Gate Thus Fairy Tail Fought There
by Annoying NPC
Summary: A new enemy has made itself known in Fiore, the likes of which had emerged from a mysterious structure they now call a "gate". Now a new world has been opened that is filled with strife, political disputes and brand new adventures for our favorite guild; Fairy Tail. Though it won't be like any other they've had before, nor will the experiences be either.
1. Battle of Crocus Pt I

**A/N:** _Hello Everyone!_ _Looks like I'm trying my hand with my first ever crossover, mainly because I'm interested in opening up the possibilities of such ones between these two franchises and wish for everyone else to enjoy what I see going for it. Along with that, I've actually had some of this written down a few years ago on an old flash drive I found and after reviewing what I wrote, I knew it needed a major revision which made me decide to split the chapters into parts. This is my first attempt at a crossover and if you would like to inform me about some things I may not know about the Gate universe, please don't hesitate to tell me (I'd really appreciate it). As a final note, spoiler warning for those who only watch the anime for Fairy Tail; I'm using a number of points of its ending although I'm going to take the liberty of changing a few things where I see fit. Kind of obvious since the main cast are doing this rather than what they had planned to do. A bit of a disclaimer I assume, but with that out of the way please enjoy the story!_

* * *

Battle of Crocus Pt. I

A tale as extravagant as Fairy Tail's adventures through the years has become near common knowledge for the millions living in Fiore, which was much more apparent in the it's capital of Crocus. The young queen, Hisui, herself could still see the guild's banner being flown within the city even after two weeks since their victory at the x795 Grand Magic Games as she looked out from one of the windows of the castle's grand dining hall. Turning on her heal, she began overlooking the large dining hall table that seated her advisors, confidants and a few political guests she was entertaining. Queen Hisui had a fond smile on her face as her father ate away happily at his meal from his own personal seat next to her own at the head of the table, an act that used to be a rarity when he was still the crowned king of Fiore not two years ago. If she had to be honest, Hisui had her fears about inheriting the throne after her father had abdicated his position, but she did her best in the first few months she went into power although there were some problems.

As much as she wished not to notice it, the then newly appointed queen of Fiore was fully aware of a few political enemies that tried to undermine her power with a simplistic cover up argument of her being too young and unprepared to truly rule. Personal informants loyal to the crown kept tabs on these upstarts and their actual intentions, but her moment to truly shine came when she helped establish a peace treaty between her country and the Alvarez Empire. The treaty itself gave Fiore a powerful ally due in part to the queen's expert diplomatic skills, which had also allowed the country to obtain some of the technological advancements the Alvarez Empire had been privy to. Fiore benefitted through the treaty and began to prosper soon after, gaining praise from both the people and influential individuals; however, it was a useful thing to also be friends with Fairy Tail with mutual support and understanding between each other.

Such were her thoughts in those few occasions she allowed herself to think back into the early stages of her rule, but they were soon moved aside as her appointed second-in-command of the Fiorean army, Arcadios, stood puzzled looking out a window near the main entrance of the hall. The head knight had been invited to join the get together by his queen, but decided to keep guard and minded his own business as these other important figures enjoyed their lunch, but his attention was later entrapped by plumes of smoke on the horizon from within the city and wondered if a fire had started in a building. His thoughts and the guests' conversation were interrupted when a breathless royal knight barged into the dining hall with a sense of urgency written across his face.

"Your highness the Capital's under attack!" The nameless knight exclaimed as Arcadios immediately made his way over towards his majesty, low murmurs beginning to flare up from those at the table to the severity of the attack and worry for personal safety. Even if they were seated inside one of the most secured buildings within Crocus.

"Who would dare attack the capital?" The former king, Toma Fiore, questioned as the knight tried to catch his breath, steadying himself with his spear as there was no doubt he came from one of the greater entrances of the castle nearer to ground level.

"We are unsure who it is, reports from engaging knights indicates that it is a battalion of monster-like creatures with an unidentified army following behind them!" A cold sweat dropped down Toma's brow as the sounds of screams began to resonate inside the room and he balled his fists in anger. Aside from Irene's unbelievable power when she attacked, not once has he ever faced an attack on this scale in his time as king. "Some of our men have mention seeing an unknown structure near the south that could be where the enemy is coming from."

"Send all available knights to defend and evacuate the citizens immediately, whoever this enemy is can destroy the city but I will not allow them to attack my people!" Hisui commanded as Arcadios nodded his head in understanding, full knowing that it was time to take charge of the counter attack.

"You heard her highness; send the knights out and activate the rune barrier to protect the palace. We'll use this as an evacuation point with the Garou Knights safeguarding the area and send my Cherry Blossom Knight captains to act as the main vanguard for the counter attack!" Arcadios ordered as the royal knight saluted before running off to communicate the orders.

"As for myself, I will stay at your sides until this attack has been resolved." The armored man said as he bowed towards the royal family.

"Your loyalty is very much appreciated Arcadios, but until we fully know who are enemy is, we must still garner more reinforcements against the enemy. Our own knights are capable, but I still worry for those who will be overrun when evacuating the citizens." Queen Hisui replied as her father nodded in agreement, her minor combat knowledge pointing out the necessity of having a supporting force that can help the army from being stretched too thin.

"My daughter is correct Arcadios, we need to contact all the guilds and have them send any capable mage available for Crocus' defense." Toma suggested as mages will be needed to repel the enemy's magical capabilities, whatever they may be. "Contact Fairy Tail first, they are the country's strongest guild after all and with them at our side we won't be facing defeat anytime soon." The short man said as grin spread across his face as everyone in the room knew that with Fairy Tail, surrender isn't in their vocabulary.

"Please hurry, the lives of our people depend on it" Queen Hisui added as her sentiment for her people was contagious and all those in the room could almost feel her worry for the citizens in the midst of all the chaos below.

"Right away your highness." The armored man replied to his queen as he marched off to find a nearby communications lacrima.

* * *

In Magnolia, the sun shone brightly over the city with its iconic guild of Fairy Tail as rowdy as ever on this fine day, though they had to be reined it just a little for the sake of a few young ones among them. The guild went about their victory at the Games with a celebration that lasted throughout the day of their return well into the night, but of course that was two weeks ago and now it was back to business as usual. The eighth guild master Makarov sat in his wheelchair on the main floor, his children surrounding him; however, he had a sense of worry wash over him as he solemnly took a sip from his mug. The feeling was almost tangible to Makarov and he could tell Fairy Tail's involvement would be ever so apparent in it, but what that was remained to be seen.

"Master, there's an urgent call from the palace." Mirajane informed as he quickly asked the elder Strauss to wheel him into the back rooms with an available communications lacrima to receive the call.

Luckily enough, a meeting room that had been kept clean and upkept without much use was free and housed a lacrima on top of the main table in the center of the room, even though Mira slide it closer to the side so Makarov could see. The aging master allowed his magic to flow into the lacrima and was met with the serious expression of the royal family's holy head knight; Arcadios. His feeling was right on the Jewel if the royal family was calling upon him and his guild, but the old man was very aware there was no way he'd turn away from helping those in need.

"I apologize for the sudden call Master Makarov, but we need your guild's support immediately, it's an emergency." The old master knew it to be a serious problem by the tone of the armored man's voice, though he sighed to himself as he thought about who he would send first.

"What's the problem Arcadios?" Makarov asked as he needed some more information before sending away his children into danger, not that his brats wouldn't be able to handle themselves but it was natural parental worry the aging master had for all of them that made him cautious.

"The capital's under attack by an unknown enemy, we are trying to evacuate the civilians towards the palace and the arena, but request further support for our counter attack. Do not worry, we'll be contacting all the available guilds to lend us their support as well." The dark skinned man replied as Makarov nodded his head in understanding.

"I'll see what I can do, but for the meantime, could you quite possibly put her Majesty on? I have a request to ask of her." The old master wondered if this would be useful and as the holy knight went off to get the Queen, Makarov had asked Mira if she wouldn't mind fetching Erza, her team, Wendy, Gajeel and Laxus. The white haired woman nodded her head, seeing where the old master was suggesting and immediately went off to get the called upon mages.

It wasn't long before the seven mages, including Levy and her daughter Gale, had walked into the the Master's office with the exceeds not far behind, unaware of what exactly he needed them for. As a given, an argument worthy suggestion began to spring up between the ice mage and dragon slayers to what the reason may be before Erza had silenced them all. What they hadn't expected was for the Queen of Fiore to be on the other end of the lacrima sitting atop of the desk the Master was nearby of and made themselves presentable in front of her. Makarov face palmed as Gray had walked in shirtless and remained that way in front of her highness until Wendy handed him his shirt and coat. As the ice mage began to redress himself, Makarov cleared his voice to regain everyone's attention on him so that he could send in the support team towards the capital.

"Listen to me you brats, I know this may be very short notice but Crocus is under attack at this very moment and I'm sending you lot in to help protect the innocent and assist the counter attack." Makarov claimed as a grin spread across Natsu's face as he was prepared for action, a similar reaction that was shared amongst most of them.

"Here we go again." Lucy muttered to herself as Wendy chuckled a little towards her claim, but they couldn't deny that there was a form of excitement building within them.

"All of you need to be there immediately and conventional travel would take too long, not to mention that Mest can only transport a certain number of you at a time before becoming exhausted. That is why I'm asking the Queen if she could help open a Celestial Spirit gate to get you there in one go." Makarov said as he hypothesized that if Lucy opened one of her gates on this side, the Queen could open another on her side.

"Although it has not been done before, I could have one of my contracted spirits guide them from the spirit realm here." Hisui replied as Makarov took it as a go ahead, hopefully it would work given the circumstance.

"That'll have to do. Erza, Natsu, Gajeel and Laxus will support the vanguard, Gray and Lucy will assist the secondary force at the center and Wendy will provide support and help heal the wounded, understood?" The old master said as he tried forming a quick battle plan before they departed, and he was answered with an agreeing cheer that put a smile on his face.

"They could go through the Spirit World, as for me I'm going there in my own way." Laxus said before stepping out onto the adjacent double doors leading outside and disappearing in a strike of lighting, which wasn't very surprising to everyone since they knew that it was his own personal way of traveling when he went solo.

With that distraction, a very worried Levy had decided to get some words in with Gajeel as she had no idea that this was what was happening and on a day that they were supposed to spend as a family. The bluenette never liked it when the guild was placed into such predicaments with lives on the line and now that she shares one with the man she loves, it only seemed logical that it bothered her that he was being sent out to some war zone. The solid script mage knew what she was getting into when she married him, since he was a dragon slayer and as mages of Fairy Tail, but her worries stemmed mainly around the impact it would have on Gale.

"Are you really going to go, just like that?" Levy asked as she pulled Gajeel off to the side while she held Gale tightly in arms, worried that they wouldn't see him again if he's going into something far more dangerous than what they've been told.

"Gihi, it takes a lot more than some nobodies to take me down. Don't worry so much, I'll come back home for dinner." Gajeel whispered to his fretting wife as he picked up his daughter into his arms. "Wish daddy luck out there and remember to be a brave girl while I'm gone, okay?" The iron dragon slayer was met with giggles from his two year old in response before Makarov began talking once again.

"Now remember brats; protect the civilians, push back the enemy and make sure to come back here in one piece, understand!?" Makarov exclaimed as he was met with even more cheers of the small attack force that would be sent in first.

"Your Highness if you will, please have a spirit at the ready." The aging master asked as he noticed Lucy summoning Virgo to assist them on their travel.

"No problem, she will be waiting for them in the Spirit World as we speak." Queen Hisui replied as the mages behind them disappeared in a shimmer of golden light, already on their way towards the battlefront.

"Thank you your Highness, we'll keep in contact and have a new group of well prepared mages to assist you shortly." Makarov spoke up as the Queen bowed her head in thanks before Arcadios did as well and turned off the lacrima.

"I have a strange feeling, like the sense of a dark time fast approaching and this unknown enemy is pushing my worries forwards even more." Mira said as she was positive that an army would've been easily spotted thanks to the use of the more advanced detection systems in the capital.

"I must agree with you there Mira, these old bones get the feeling too and they haven't lied to me yet." Makarov replied as he went off to prepare the rest of his brats for another battle to come, he just hoped it didn't escalate into another full blown war that would endanger their lives.

* * *

In the Celestial Plane, the Fairy Tail's first responding group and the Exceeds were rushing through the realm with a maid spirit leading them towards her gate where her master was waiting for them. Due to the urgency of the situation there wasn't enough time for a dress change so Wendy had created makeshift air bubbles for everyone to breath with. Although this type of spell was one of her latest ones she has become proficient in, it was working perfectly well though the other spirits remained on standby in case they were to fail and provide the necessary assistance needed.

Amongst them all, Natsu was the most excited for a chance to fight and Gajeel was no different, however the same could not be said for Erza as she still questioned how an enemy of such great number was able to infiltrate the capital. She had gotten word that Alvarez had help implement a new detection system as with the pass war being a prime example of Fiore's inadequacy of detecting enemy forces through their original means. The redhead's personal informant hadn't gotten any word on his end of enemy movements on the capital and Erza could only assume that these people were trying their hardest to remain undetected until the very day of their attack. The requip mage's thoughts were left to linger until Natsu cheered from the sheer excitement of combat, even if he had no idea what kind of enemy was waiting for them once they arrived.

"I'm getting fired up now! I can't wait to show these guys what happens when you mess with us!" Natsu exclaimed as the opened gate was getting closer, although Gray didn't share the same sentiment.

"So long as you remember what we're supposed to do hot head. Protecting the people and pushing back the enemy are our main objectives." The ice mage couldn't agree with the dragon slayer's attitude as they were lucky in the past with their major battles, but he wouldn't start to test how far their luck would stretch. Not to mention the fact that Fairy Tail's involvement in serious engagements was becoming much more apparent to him, even if they had a relatively peaceful period.

"I know that ice bastard! I'm just saying, it's been too long since my last fight!" Natsu replied although the others knew very well that the dragon slayer was receiving a few complaints from the destruction he had done to a forest from his last battle not five days ago.

"Alright you two stay focused, this is our stop." Erza spoke up this time as the celestial gate lay open before them and the maid spirit ushered them through with a bow.

The first thing they were met with was the relieved faces from Queen Hisui and Arcadios as the Fairy Tailers began to pour out of the Queen's celestial gate and into the the throne room. One thing they all did was take in a new breath of fresh air, they knew Wendy out did herself with the usage of the air bubbles although the negative to it was that they were only breathing in stale air for quite a while. Though the air wasn't as fresh as they would've thought as the next thing they were hit with was the smell of smoke. They all turned to look out a window and noticed the numerous plumes of smoke coming from the southern part of the city.

"Thank goodness you all made it safely." Queen Hisui said as she rushed towards them while Arcadios awaited the return of his Holy Knight captains after summoning them sometime before Fairy Tail's arrival.

"Travelling through the Celestial World may be convenient with two Celestial mages in different areas, but I doubt I want to do that again without the proper clothes." Lucy replied tiredly as the danger itself wasn't very well recognized while they ran through their spirits' world, but she trusted the spirits to make sure their lives wouldn't be in any mortal danger.

"No kidding, but how long has it been since you called for us?" Gray asked as he remembered that time works differently in both their worlds.

"It's been about two hours since Fairy Tail's been called and your friend, Laxus, has already been dispatched to the southern part of the city. Since the time displacement of the Celestial Spirit world was factored in with your arrival, we've done what we've can on our end and moved to the throne room to continue any further courses of action." Arcadios said as the footsteps of armored boots could be heard approaching the throne room. "In any case, Laxus has already managed to hold ground at his current location all on his own, but it seems that the enemy has spread out to the eastern and western areas of Crocus. Our knights are staving them off as best they can, but it won't be long until they're overrun, especially near the arena."

"That is troublesome indeed, but what about the other guilds? Have any of them arrived yet?" Erza questioned as she looked out onto the city, watching as the plumes of smoke seemed to be growing in number in a few areas and listening to the sounds of explosions and screams resonate from within the city that only served to churn her stomach.

"Most of them are already on their way as we speak, but on short notice some of the trains had delays and Blue Pegasus' Christina required to be re-armed for combat." The holy knight replied as he was saluted by the captains who had finally arrived.

"Looks like we don't have support for a while, but Fairy Tail's more than enough to get the job done." Natsu said as he cracked his fist with a challenging grin on his face.

"There's no doubt about that, so I pray that our victory comes swiftly and the tides of this battle drastically change." Arcadios then pointed towards the four men who stood waiting at the doorway of the throne room. "These men will help lead you towards designated battlefronts that require immediate assistance."

The men varied in appearance, two of them looked to be seasoned veterans if the scars on their faces were of any indication and the sharp stare they were giving towards the mages made them gather an understanding that they've fought against their kind and obviously came out victorious. One had graying hair along with his beard, but he didn't give off a harsh vibe as one would expect but his armor did show markings of his battles over the years and he held himself like a man who had walked through the expanses of hell itself.

The other was a taller man with not as much gray although it was still visible amongst his auburn tresses, his lower left cheek marred by old burns and a scar going down his right eye that was covered by an eyepatch. He held himself similar like the previous man, however he seemed much more calculative and bits of his armor were missing from sight. Although it was very obvious that the dragon slayers and Gray were fully aware of the stench of blood that not only came off from their boots and armor, but heavily from their weapons.

The other two were younger captains that looked to be no older than Laki, but even they didn't seem to be pushovers either. One was a sandy blonde young man who wore a very familiar armor type with a very recognizable crest, which was the reason he had been eyeing at Erza for a while already although she wasn't particularly focusing on him. A distinctive feature aside from his armor and hair was that there were remnants of dried blood smeared across his chestplate and greaves, which brought a worrisome feeling in Lucy and Wendy of how serious things had gotten out there.

The other young man was slightly shorter with light green hair, his armor more in line with the newly standard captain's armor which paraded a number of dents and scratch marks running across his chestplate, gauntlets and pauldrons. What was interesting about him was that alongside the blade he kept in a sheath on his back, he had two magic pistols on each of his sides in easily accessible holsters.

"This is Captain Jose Laurel, his platoon is overseeing the protection of the arena evacuation point, but they're being bombarded with waves of enemies and his men are growing exhausted with each one." Arcadios told the Fairies as the the auburn haired veteran stepped forward when his name was called.

"We've suffered casualties with what they keep throwing at us, but luckily my men are the toughest they could be and we haven't lost one civilian yet. Still, if nothing is done then the enemy will surely break through my men and the arena will become nothing short of a massacre." Laurel said as his gruff voiced easily matched his person, but the Fairies could tell that even he understood when the best interests for his men's survival was needed to be looked into before it was too late.

"Don't worry Captain Laurel, we'll be sending one of our best with you." Erza said as she looked over her band of mages and turned her gaze towards the iron dragon slayer. "Gajeel, I'm pulling you out from the vanguard so that you can go assist him at the arena."

"Fine, so long as I still get to bust some heads." The long haired man knew better than to question the Titania about being pulled from the front lines, but if enemies were still attacking then he was fine with it.

"Wendy you go and support him, I'm sure the palace has healers here to help the wounded, but it's not a sure thing there would be many at the arena." The young teen nodded her head in understanding before waving good bye to everyone and following after the captain, Gajeel and Lily with Carla following closely after her.

"With that, the evacuation points are secured until the remaining guilds' reinforcements arrive." Arcadios said as he then went back to facing the remaining captains, now pointing to the remaining veteran and the sandy blonde haired man. "The older man is Captain William Iris and the young man next to him is Captain Mori Peony, they are leading the main vanguard in the eastern and southwestern parts of the city."

"Given the current situation, we both were stationed towards the south until the lightning mage arrived. From there the enemy began to divide itself and went into three separate directions; continuing their advance from the south and straight towards the palace, east towards the arena and west in an attempt to flank the slayer and get to the palace that way." Captain Iris explained the situation and it made sense, tactically wise, to keep the slayer occupied with more troops while they went around him in a near pincer maneuver.

"Hmm, I suppose this is where Natsu and I must head towards. What of the west?" Erza could devise where exactly they were to look into, Natsu would head for the southwest while she can help deal with the east and ease the troop advance towards the arena although that left the west without support.

"We are holding well enough at the moment, the Garou Knights have supported us well through most of the fight once the palace had been well secured, but the enemy once again diverged and my men went after them once they ran further into the city." The fourth captain spoke up this time as he relayed the information he knew before heading back to the palace. "I'm Captain Tatsumi Gladiolus and I apologize for speaking out of line Sir Arcadios, but it is imperative that I return to the front lines and assist my men."

"If you believe that any help isn't necessary than very well captain, but what of the reinforcement platoon's captain? I requested for the both of you to return here." Arcadios had heard of the situation towards the west and sent help since the enemy forces were heading straight for Laxus in two directions.

"I'm sorry sir, but I never received or heard of any reinforcements up to this point. It's solely been myself and my men since our deployment to counter the enemy and it is that way as the Garou Knights have rerouted themselves to protect the palace." Captain Gladiolus replied as the sound of more metal boots rushing down the hall became louder until a wounded soldier came into view, holding onto his bloodied side while he attempted to salute to his superiors.

"S-Second Lieutenant H-Hanes reporting..." The young soldier said as the green haired captain rushed to his side before he collapsed. "Representing C-Captain Aster, we require assistance as soon as possible. Hostile forces...avoided the l-lightning mage and are headed for the palace, our platoon intercepted their advance but are being outnumbered..." That was all he managed to say before he succumbed to his wounds, thankfully Captain Peony, with what little healing magic he knew, acted as fast as he could and healed a portion of the wounds so he wasn't in mortal danger.

"That's what must have happened to my reinforcements." Gladiolus remarked as he carefully laid the young man down, calling for medics to arrive in the throne room yet he was worried for what might become of his men. "Even if I head out now, I'm unsure if my men and I will be able to make it towards their rescue."

"Don't worry about it, if they past Laxus then they're headed to strengthen their people battling our intercepting forces and that's where me and Lucy are going." Gray said with a confident smirk on his face as Lucy gave him a reassuring look. "We're both more than enough to rescue the outnumbered platoon and beat back the enemy."

"If you weren't members of Fairy Tail, I'd call you insane but that's not the case now is it?" Arcadios said as he gave a hearty smile at how far their enthusiasm goes. " Before you go, I must inform you that we've received reports that a temple like structure is the main cause for the continuous flow of hostile forces. Do what you can to stop this if you can, as for now you all have your orders so I'll leave the rest to all of you and with that, there is now no way we will let Crocus fall."

"Good, we know where we must go so let's head out people!" Erza exclaimed as she received a collective 'Aye' from everyone and the remaining Fairy Tailers and royal knights began to head out towards their designated posts.

After what the soldiers have seen and what the Fairy Tail mages have gathered thus far, it is nothing short of war within the capital of Fiore. Their enemy has no chance against their resolve of steel and the driving force of what it means if they failed to do everything in their power to make sure the innocent stay out of harm's way. Though caught by surprise, the defenders of Fiore now stand set and ready to drive the enemy into full retreat and back from wherever they came from.


	2. Battle of Crocus Pt II

Battle of Crocus Pt. II

The screams were no longer echoing, that much was certain to Wendy as she tried desperately to heal the wounds of a Fiorean soldier whose pain was very much understood by the young dragon slayer. Her hands shook as the soldier applied as much pressure as he possibly could while she healed him, an action she desperately advised him to do once she removed the sword that was lodged into his stomach. The teen had seen severe wounds before, nothing new to her, but the chaos of the battle and the nauseating stench of blood were dizzying her so much that she couldn't keep her focus. Through it all; however, she could feel him drifting away as his eyes began misting over or perhaps she was looking at her own reflection who began to spring tears. In all the time she had been a healer, Wendy had never had a person die under her care and yelled frantically for the soldier to keep conscious to stay awake long enough for more help to arrive.

"It's...alright young one..." The soldier began in short breaths as his coming end drew nearer, "It's my time...please protect the innocent..." His breaths turned to short gasps before his head lulled to one side and the pressure he'd been keeping on his wound disappeared entirely.

Wendy froze as the light in his eyes faded and the tiny pelts of liquid on her arm came in a greater frequency, until she finally cried out in sorrow for the life that was lost in her arms. Her mind was clouded with the only clear thought in her mind was that she failed. She let another life slip through her fingers when there could have been something she could have done for him, but the blood he lost was just too much. It was then that she took notice of the all the dead, a number of their enemies and creatures scattered about but what really got to her was those of her allies. Laurel had claimed that he hadn't lost a single civilian, but he kept the fact that a number of his men had perished before he left for the castle and while he was away.

The young dragon slayer was in plenty of battles with great consequences to life itself, many hanging in the balance at times, but the gruesome reality of war had never truly dawned on her. The war against Alvarez had been brutal, but not once had she seen death on such a terrible level before and it only made her sick to her stomach to know what lives are lost in war. Men both young and old, those who barely lived their lives to those who have quite possibly have something to live for were dying around her so needlessly from an enemy without cause. She didn't know the reason as to why they were attacking, didn't know what they were gaining from killing people and didn't know how many more lives were going to be lost before it was over.

As Wendy continued to cry over the soldier's corpse, she had let her guard down and an enemy soldier had began making his way towards her. His blade was at the ready, no remorse visible under his helm for the desire to kill the young girl though he knew the threat she possessed. A healer, in any battle, is a target priority for they will only prevent the fall of their enemies and prolong a fight until his own soldiers were worn out and injured to the point of being a liability. Her role in this battle circumvented both her age and gender, for she willingly joined the fray and should understand what it means to fight against the Empire.

The soldier stood over her, his blade overhead where he'd make a simple strike that she wouldn't feel much pain before her body would hit the floor. A quick death for the young girl was all the mercy he'd show his enemy, he wasn't a complete monster to let her suffer like the soldier who died underneath her hands. As it came down, his sword was flung from his hand as another girl rushed him, her quick movements disarming him and that's when he noticed her white hair and cat ears. He was about to call her a traitor to the Empire as the cat people were under their rule until the last thing he saw was a black shoe kicking in his visor before the world went black.

"Child why did you just sit there!? You were almost killed!" Carla exclaimed as she hugged Wendy as hard as she could, for even the stoic Carla had feared the worst if she didn't make it in time. The last thing she ever wanted was to lose Wendy in this terrible battle, she had no purpose of being in.

"B-But Carla, I...I couldn't save this man!" Wendy wailed as her conscience began to way down on such a horrible fate she could've prevented if only she was stronger with her healing magic. "I should've trained harder before something like this could ever happen!"

"It's okay young one, it'll be fine." Carla stroked her hair as she kept a lookout in case they were ambushed. "I know how much this pains you Wendy, but you must understand that the situation has probabilities we can never anticipate. Sometimes we will fail to do what must be done because we didn't see it coming"

"But we knew how terrible a battle like this would be!" Wendy couldn't forgive herself for failing to save the Fiorean soldier's life and couldn't find within herself to claim her actions as everything she could have done.

"My dear Wendy I know the reality of everything hurts you, but even we both knew that it was impossible for such a thing not to happen." Carla said as she tried to reason with the girl to get back into the fight. "In our current circumstance something like this is bound to happen, but no matter had happened just now or later on, I have no doubt that everyone won't see you differently for it."

"But I will..."

"Tis true that you must live with this fact, but you must also understand that if you hadn't taken action to ease this brave man's pain then his sacrifice to stop those vile men from attacking the innocent people would go without appreciation while he was still with us." Carla said as Wendy gave it thought and held back the rest of her painful tears. "My dear Wendy your actions and willingness to save his life is an acceptable thanks to him as he no doubt believed that he meant something to you and what we are fighting for. Terrible things may happen, but we must move forward and look to a brighter future."

"Y-You're right, I need to tough it out so that everyone else can live a happier life." Wendy wiped away the remaining tears and Carla smiled as she saw a new resolve in the blue haired teen, of course she knew it would still weigh in her heart but the innocent lives were at the forefront of it.

"That's my girl, now let's go and show them what it means to be Fairy Tail mages protecting our people!" Carla exclaimed as she had grown to take great pride of being a member of the rambunctious guild; however, the urge of bravery had been shadowed both figuratively and literally as an ogre stood over them and a club raised high in the air.

"Iron Dragon's Sword!" Gajeel roared as he struck down the approaching ogre through its center as the crimson blood covered his bladed arm leaving the young teen and Exceed in shock of how easily he killed the beast with no remorse. "These bastards don't want to stay down for long."

"Gajeel, you killed it..." Wendy said through her surprise or even horror as her dragon slayer kin didn't seem the least bit phased. "How could you do it so easily?"

"Hate to break it to you kid, but I'm no stranger to killing and if these things keep coming then there won't be any choice left for you either." Her fellow dragon slayer replied as he launched a wave of clubs to bring down a group of goblins rushing at him. "As much as I know you'd hate this, you're gonna have to take their lives to save many more. Whether it's human or one of these creatures, kill them to save the many hiding in safety behind us."

"I...I understand." Wendy replied solemnly as she launched her Wing Attack to topple a pair of ogres advancing on a fallen soldier who was quickly dragged away to safety by another one.

Wendy, like any Fairy Tail mage, hated to take lives be it a human or otherwise and to this day still felt a small pang of guilt when she thought about killing her first person when she would try to save someone dear to her. As for Gajeel, he hated to bring the hammer of truth down on the young teen and knew that amongst those in Fairy Tail, besides Asuka, she was as pure as they get and didn't want to taint her with the sin of killing. He had done it for years when he was left with no other choice and could deal with it without having it weigh on his conscience, but he wanted to keep Wendy as pure as possible. But they were in a battle that literally meant life or death if you hesitated and protecting the innocent and his guild mates mattered to him, so he had to take the kid gloves off Wendy and have her face the fact that this was her only way of surviving.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" The tremendous force of his iron filled roar cut, slashed and punctured every bit of the monsters in front of him leaving only ghoulish husks in its wake, but instead of more creatures to face he was met with dozens of armored soldiers in outdated armor speaking a strange dialect.

Gajeel believed that his show of ferocity would leave them fearful and have them retreat to regroup or something, but when they lined up in formation with what numbers they had, he was left confused. It wasn't long until they began their charge and the iron dragon slayer knew that they weren't going to back down as easily as he thought. He reformed his hands into clubs and prepared to take them head on, making sure to make quick work of them as he could hear the sounds of approaching footsteps behind them. With a smirk he rushed them, sending the first three soldiers flying away and knocking one down with a perfectly aimed kick to the head as the man fell forward in an unconscious heap.

The line gave way and they all surrounded the dragon slayer as groups of three all attacked at once when the opportunity arose, however they were quickly knocked out before even laying a scratch on him. The attackers grew in number with each attack group until he was blind sided and two of the enemy soldiers plunged their swords into his body. Gajeel momentarily froze as he could feel the familiar cold steel graze his iron stomach, intestines and lungs while watching the smug smiles on the two men's faces as they thought they had achieved victory. The long haired man allowed them to revel in their supposed success before chuckling and watching the fear grow in his enemies eyes as he pulled each blade out of his body. Pulling their weapons from their hands, his smile grew even wider as the fear seemed to be etched so cleanly on their faces as there was no doubt that they've never met someone who could survive two swords plunging into them.

"Gihi, you better hope you have something better than that." He chuckled darkly as he stuck both blades into his mouth and began eating them until all that was left were the hilts. "Hope there's a universal understanding when I say you're fucked."

Their terror became evident as they tried to back away from him, some even dropping their weapons and shields before the red eyed man launched a wave of Demon Logs at them. He cracked his fists when he noticed another group of them coming and internally hoped he was ready for a buffet to come straight at him. It would just take some effort on his behalf not to kill so many of them as he couldn't help but feel Wendy's eyes on him, no doubt still trying to process the fact that he admitted to killing people before. Although a different situation was happening nearby with his faithful partner Lily who was still in his smaller form wielding his sword.

The black furred Exceed jumped in front of a small crowd of people who were cornered by the same armor clad men that Gajeel fought, but their reactions were of mock fear. They all pointed and laughed at how a small bipedal cat wielding an equally small sword was standing against them, a large group of men. A smirk appeared on Lily's face as he was consumed in a puff of smoke and transformed himself into his original form, the smirk still present as the laughing ceased when the soldiers looked up at his large frame and his blade that was easily twice his size. The large panther effortlessly dispatched the foolish soldiers that didn't react in time and quickly escorted the civilians to safety before more of the enemy arrived and all this happened before the gaze of Captain Laurel.

In all his years of service for the royal crown and the mages he had fought against when tracking down the multiple R-systems before the Etherion was fired on the real one, Jose Laurel had never seen such strength and combat tenacity as he did watching the two dragon slayers of Fairy Tail and their cats bring down dozens of enemies in just a single blow. When this was all over he would continue to keep his post at the capital of all things, but he wouldn't mind it one bit as he finally was able to relive his old past of combat and watch the greatest fighting prowess that was a Fairy Tail mage.

He had disdain for mages on a number of personal reasons he really didn't want to delve into as he continued to fight off beastly creatures he could only think of as a type of goblin left and right, but he couldn't come to hate the ones that were saving the innocent and his men right in front of his eyes. This was their battle as well and for once, he held respect for mages that were putting their very lives on the line with each new wave of goblins, ogre like beasts and soldiers that came at them. He had always inspired his men to continue on no matter the difficulty, but for the first time since his years as a private, the resolve from the Fairy Tail mages was becoming his inspiration to make sure that the city he called home was defended and that these bastards were sent packing.

"Come on men, this is our homeland and we won't allow some foreign army to take it away from us! Show them the powerful might of Fiore's royal army!" Laurel shouted as he took charge against a group of enemies, his position as captain bringing forth the fact that the highest ranked member around them was ready for battle and wouldn't back down for it. His cry brought a fire in them to show that they too are brave in the face of danger.

His men knew about his personal opinion of mages for what they did to his old company and him, but Captain Laurel's disdain for mages didn't deter him from magic, it was simply towards the wielders he held it against. That is why he used magical items himself, case in point being his armor that is imbued with a powerful rune that allowed him to deal greater damage if he was struck by an enemy, which was useful as the damage he would sustain from a regular attack would be shaved off into his own attack. This protected both his life and gave him strength to beat his opponent, however it had its limit of how much damage could be shaved and wasn't as effective against magic that didn't take much of a solid form. This had explained why he bore burns on him. In any case, thanks to the armor he was capable of dispatching groups of enemies on his own, but he had to remain cautious as his head was the only area that was unprotected by the rune's enchantment.

Laurel longed for a battle like this for years and though he didn't enjoy the fact that his men would perish in this battle, it didn't stop the adrenaline pumping in his veins as he faced four soldiers on his own. Although it was quite a different experience to actually be fighting alongside recognized magic users instead of fighting them on an opposing front, but he wasn't complaining.

* * *

The battles were underway as explosions, cries of pain and guttural noises that would give any being nightmares echoed throughout the empty streets that Erza ran through alongside Captain Peony and a new batch of troops following behind them. They followed alongside Natsu, Captain Iris and his new batch of troops towards the continuous lighting strikes and went their separate ways when they needed to split off in their respective directions. Erza's group made their way east to cut off the constant flow of troops heading towards the arena as it would give Gajeel and Wendy's group some breathing space as she was more than positive that Laurel's men were exhausted.

Even so, something continued to bother Erza as they ran through the streets when it came to how the area's layout was. She had taken notice of where fires had singed the ground in a manner to stop something from escaping, like a firewall of sorts and from which little to no signs reveal any fighting happening. Just a few pieces of ripped cloth here and there, but no further blood shed and it raised questions in her head concerning what had really happened here.

"I must say that it is an honor to fight alongside the legendary Titania." Peony said as he looked over towards Erza who gave him a curt nod. The sandy blonde haired man had a gleeful smile and his personality, that Erza had been shown so far, showed that he was rather cheery given the circumstances and had yet to reveal any signs of anger or rage.

"The pleasure is all mine, but I doubt I'm worthy to be classed as legendary." Erza replied as the sounds of fighting could be heard and it grew louder with every street they passed.

"Are you kidding? Amongst my men and I, you are like a war goddess that we are all grateful to have fighting alongside us in the defense of our beloved capital." Peony said as it seemed like he had stars in his eyes and Erza felt the oddest sense of familiarity between him and a certain flirty spirit contracted to Lucy.

"Well, so long as you protect one another, I shall make sure not one will be lost." Erza replied as the lives of others rested in her hands, both in the support troops and to those at the arena.

"Yes Ma'am!" Was said in unison from everyone including Peony as their spirits grew stronger and their pace quickened to the sound of battle.

As they rounded the final corner of the street they heard the fighting coming from, they were met with a sight that sent rage into each of their hearts. The men now bore witness as their fellow soldiers were being beaten to death by the small goblins, ripped apart by the ogres and cut down by the enemy soldiers while the others continued to fight for their lives not far from them. Erza noticed how Peony's expression soured and could see the formations of true anger on his face as he drew his sword from its sheath, his armor shining with a blue hue as magic surged through it and looked over towards Erza.

"On your command Goddess, we'll march into battle with you." Peony looked towards his men as they all began to equip their weapons and set up their shields, ready for when they would rush into battle.

"Please, just call me Erza." She said as she pulled a sword from her pocket dimension, swinging it swiftly before throwing straight at an ogre's head that was holding up a wounded soldier, dropping him once the blade embedded itself into its target. "Now move out everyone!"

"Sorry Goddess not happening." Peony cheekily said as he raised his sword in the air. "Alright, you heard her men, let's go!" He said as he charged forward next to Erza as his men began shouting their battle cries, gaining the enemy's attention before most of the ogres and goblins were cut down by the newly arrived troops.

The requip mage presented herself before the real enemy and not the creatures, though she hadn't expected to see such outdated armor used in such a dangerous combat situation like they were in now. The enemy soldiers in old armor looked at Erza with exasperated eyes as they began to speak to each other in an unknown dialect before a man in a more customized armor pointed towards her and yelled what she believed to be commands. No sooner after that did the men begin to charge at her, but Erza was prepared and pulled out another blade in her free hand as she fought off the soldiers attacking her with ease. They fell like flies before her might and it didn't take much for her to know that the one she believed to be their commander was sweating bullets at how graceful she was dealing with the multitude of his men he was sending at her. Making space between herself and the new group of soldiers, she decided that it was time to bring out her abilities to show how outclassed they were.

"Requip: Heaven's Wheel!" The enemy soldiers looked on as the woman's body in front of them shined brightly before the armor she was wearing changed completely.

What used to be a standard chest plate with pauldrons that they recognized as armor was now a breastplate that exposed both the cleavage of the red head's ample bosom with a large metal flower over it and her toned stomach. The blue skirt she wore, which they had found odd to go into battle with (even if they wore something akin to one) was replaced by a long billowing skirt that had metal plating covering most of the upper area beginning at her waist. Her brown boots had been replaced with thick greeves that were adorned with wing-like attachments at her ankles, large metal wings that seemed to be made up of individual blades that varied in length protruded from her back completed with a winged headpiece.

Some of the men amongst the enemy troops gazed at her with lust filled eyes and awaited their spoil of war once they defeated her as she was more than likely going to be servicing them for the rest of her youth. They of course were nothing but lecherous men that Erza herself thought lowly of and her entourage of devoted royal guards were more than happy to exterminate them just by the quick glance the red head gave to them. Still, there were those who were momentarily stunned by the display before them and the requip mage could see the signs of uncertainty within them as some of the royal guards began to group up behind her in anticipation of her command to attack.

Surprisingly amongst all the chaos around them, everyone who was fighting had given them space and nothing seemed to be willing to interfere. Erza stared them down with a cold calculating eye and the first move was that of the older looking soldiers who dropped their weapons and bowed their heads in an apologetic manner before turning around and running for their lives shouting something they couldn't understand. It was strange to her for an enemy to do such a thing instead of holding their ground, but she let them go for the meantime and pointed her blade at those who remained.

"Whether you understand me or not, heed my warning for this shall be the only one I'll give you." Erza called out in a commanding tone as her allies formed a guarding stance beside her. "Surrender now or prepare to face my wrath!"

The enemy merely looked at one another before sadistic grins formed on their faces and commenced the charge against the redhead and her followers. Needless to say, it was a one sided battle once she called upon her Circle Sword and blitzed the enemy as they were no match for her. Of course taking down the commander and holding his unconscious form in her fist gave the desired effect she expected as the soldiers began to panic at the sight of their fallen superior.

This in itself had given Erza enough information about the enemy's tactics, the human ones for that matter, as the creatures seemed more to do whatever they wanted unless instructed by the soldiers. She stood gazing at the battle around her as the enemy's forces began to dwindle into unconscious or dead heaps around her, until a blue beam of magic shot passed her and embedded itself into a hostile archer a few meters away. The redhead looked towards Peony as he was the one who had shot the beam, bringing his hand down as he smiled cheerfully at her as he quickly made his way over to her.

"That guy thought he could take a pot shot at you from that distance, good thing I saw him first." Peony said as his armor still hummed from the magic he poured into it, gaining Erza's interest as it may be similar type of advancement armor like the one's she had.

"It was a good shot captain, was it you or the armor that produced the beam?" She asked deflecting a sword strike away from her and knocking out the soldier with her gauntlet covered fist.

"Oh you noticed, this armor actually helps me boost my abilities and gives me a way to change the sizes of my beams." He explained as he fired off three more beams from his fingertips. "I mostly dabble in light magic, but I've learned how to imbue my own strength to it and is the reason it appears blue."

"You must be very talented to achieve such a thing." Erza commented as she telekinetically launched the dropped weapons of the fallen enemies into a large group of ogres charging at them.

"I thank you for the compliment Goddess, but it's nothing in comparison to what you can do." Peony replied , this time allowing his magic to be infused into his sword as he sent a slash of magic forward when he swung his sword. "My family has seen the feats you've accomplished so they understand why I hold you in such regard."

"You lead your men well Captain, continue to do so and I will bring you all back to your families." Erza said requipping into her flight armor and blitzing towards an unsuspecting group of archers, effectively taking them down before they caused serious damage to the troops.

"I don't doubt your word Goddess." Peony said, mostly to himself, as he charged off to support of few of his men that were trying to fend off a group of goblins that were toying with them as they dodged their attacks.

As Peony, his forces and Erza fought what some of his men claimed as a horde of creatures, he had noticed that the human opposition of all of this was beginning to lessen and only stragglers from the previous battle at the beginning were making their way towards the arena. For as long as he'd been a captain, the enemies tactics boggled Peony's mind as most of the soldiers relied heavily on their commanding officer to keep ranks and work as a group. All the fighting they were doing now felt to chaotic on the enemies behalf as all of his men were very capable in supporting each other as a team where the others fought without any direction. Though he was glad to have Titania on his side as her overall power was worth a battalion of his men, which was a much needed thing as some of the previous Fiorean soldiers needed to be taken to healers. Her graceful movements, her calculated strikes and her precision with her blades were just like her remembered them being when he witnessed her defeat that monster his village decorated on of its horns for her.

His men call him a fanboy, but that's what they pretty much were in comparison to other groups of the military. A large collection of impressive soldiers and major fanboys for the Great Titania of Fairy Tail, though he knows to keep it relatively quiet around the missus. An odd thing to be thinking about as he defeated another foe with his blade and pierced the hearts of four more goblins with his light magic before a corporal came up to him.

"Sir, the enemy seems to be pulling back. It's mainly these creatures left, but a good portion of our men can finish them up." Peony thought it through and decided that it was best to press the attack now that the enemy is in retreat.

"Corporal, find the second lieutenant and tell him that he and two squads will remain here to finish off the remainder of these...monsters. I'll take the rest of the men alongside the Titania and press our counter attack."

"Yes, Sir!" The corporal turned on his heel and went off to relay the orders, while Peony looked off towards the south as he couldn't help noticing the odd purple forms that had been dropping towards the ground underneath the lightning storm that other Fairy Tail mage had created.

With the eastern part of the city secured, Erza and Peony have halted the flow of soldiers heading for the arena although neither of them know why the enemy has retreated from trying to overcome this position. The eastern team have decided to press forward to gain further ground and if possible, meet with Natsu's group at Laxus' position for one final push to drive them back. The only thing standing in their way now is two more areas left to secure and the giant structure Arcadios had mentioned being the culprit of the continuous flow of enemies, but something about it brought about a similar question amongst those who know about it...

Where does it lead to?


	3. Battle of Crocus Pt III

Battle of Crocus Pt. III

Fighting dark mages, going toe-to-toe against demons, facing off against dragons, and surviving all of it was enough to mark one as legendary, but Lucy didn't consider herself like that at all. It's still a wonder to her of how she got through all that in one piece as it wasn't something she had in mind when she joined Fairy Tail all those years ago and yet, she couldn't find it within herself to think of having a different life than that. Running through a warzone is something an heiress never had to do, even former ones like herself although they were most likely not a member of Fairy Tail. She wondered how her old high prestine friends would think of her now since she left that part of her life long ago, no doubt complaining to her for not having a great wardrobe collection like them.

The busty blonde couldn't understand why, but she just felt the need to look back at how far she has come since the day she decided to run away from her unbearable home. Lucy knew her mother was looking over her and without a doubt, never expected this lifestyle for her only daughter and yet she knew her mother always expected great things for her. It was at times like these the spirit mage could never understand how far the scope of her previous life and the one she led now differed greatly, but it was only a momentary distraction for her to drown out some of the chaos that was happening. The situation at hand needed her attention now and she could only afford to be distracted so very little with lives hanging on the line as she focused once again to the ruined part of the city.

Battle torn buildings surrounded Lucy as she ran behind Gray at full speed, Captain Gladiolus and his new batch of men not far behind her as they were the reinforcement squads to help the captain's main platoon. Ever since they made it out onto the streets, the sickening feeling of the dark truths hidden in the streets ahead continuously hounded at her emotions of what remained to be seen. War was never clean, never fought without bloodshed and never forgot to leave its mark on the survivors; all this she knew all too well and there hasn't been a day where she felt the most sorrow then the anniversary of their victory over Alvarez. Lives on their half were not lost, even though just barely, but it tore at her heart to see over an ocean of dark armor that feel like heaps after the master had casted Fairy Law.

This was no different than that war as she had her guild beside her, yet the extra troops did provide even more reassurance of how well equipped they were going into this and still the sorrow she was fending off for the things she had yet to see was there. For the most part, right up until they had to split off and Captain Gladiolus took his men to support his original platoon leaving herself and Gray to continue onwards, things seemed relatively calm and found comfort that the ice mage was there beside her. When facing the darkest descents of humanity that killed each other for one reason or the other during war, a part of Lucy was glad she paired up with Gray while another part of her knew that he was one who'd get past the true sights of horror without a second glance given his history.

Gray on the other hand had already expected the worst to unfold once they made it towards their main staging area, showing how he viewed war or battle of this scale as nothing more than a bloodbath. He couldn't say he was immune to the disgusting nature of this kind of violence as it would be a lie, but he was tolerant of it as he's seen the darkest of things since he was eight. Hell, he buried whatever he could find of his old village by himself with some help from Lyon and Ur all those years ago. So when the heightened sense of smell he had, thanks to his devil slayer magic, picked up the scent of blood he knew that the real extent of this battle was about to be seen.

He signaled towards Lucy in a way so that she could be prepared for what's to come, but even the stench of blood here was barely comparable to the over stimulation he had received when Deliora attacked his village. His running lessened into a jog as the devastation of fighting was becoming even more apparent, but the ice mage could tell that the knights had managed to push the enemy back far enough as hostile casualties far outnumbered the kingdom's knights and a little ways ahead was a resting point where a few soldiers were recuperating with some standing guard.

"We're here to support, what's the situation so far?" Gray said as Lucy caught her breath, although it took a bit for the resting soldiers to actually reply to him.

"Took you long enough, but you're with Fairy Tail so that means our job just got a lot easier." One soldier said, his arm severely bandaged and placed into a makeshift sling while the others made agreeing sounds at his claim. "Everyone here are some of the remaining troops of their old squads that managed to get out of the carnage alive. We're all with the main garrison defending the city once your other guy showed up and, thankfully enough, we've managed to push the enemy back."

"That explains why you guys are resting around here, right?" Lucy asked as she finally regained her breath, but tried to avoid showing signs of disgust as the iron smell of blood was wafting into her nose.

"Right you are little lady, but you aren't the first ones to pass us by." The soldier said as he was met with a quizzical look from the mages in front of him. "A platoon rushed passed us a while ago, seemed like they were sent to help out one of the big shot captains but that's as far as I know."

"What of the main garrison, how they holding up?" Gray asked as the soldier looked over towards another one, his head bandaged around the forehead and a medic working on his leg.

"I'm the latest guy here from there and we were doing fine for the most part. Most of the fighting was pretty bad until a new wave of the enemies blindsided us and we had to fight them off as best we could. We got lucky when that platoon showed up when it did, most of the troops I was with are still there fighting and I got instructed to fall back because of these wounds." The new knight said as Gray took this all into consideration, knowing that the missing reinforcements became their first task on their list before heading for the line.

"Alright, take it easy guys. Fairy Tail's got this battle in the bag already." Gray said with a confident smirk before running off in the direction of the main battle on this side of the city, with Lucy smiling reassuringly towards the wounded troops before following after Gray.

The ice mage was trying to piece together the information he had gathered from the wounded soldier's at the palace to correctly locate the missing troops, using Laxus' lightning strikes as a focal point to go off by. If Captain Aster's platoon went in this direction to support Gladiolus, then he and his men went eastward to stop the enemy's advance after they somehow got past Laxus. Making a hard left, Gray swung around the next street corner as this was most likely the direction Aster was heading off to. As he ran, his senses were going haywire and the stench was growing far worse with each passing second until he came to a skidding halt right as he exited the current alleyway he was using as a short cut.

Lucy for the most part understood where Gray was leading them as he must have thought exactly like her and believed Aster's group went in their current direction. What she didn't understand was why the ice mage stopped as soon as he made it near the end of the alleyway until she could feel the air around her instantly drop in temperature. The blonde knew it was Gray's doing as the walls around her began to be blanketed in ice and she could see his fists tightly balling up into fists. She quickly placed a hand on his shoulder to settle him and in that instant he seemed to be coming back from his anger induced haze and curiously gazed at him as he stood facing her with a stern gaze.

"Lucy, I know you've seen a lot travelling with Fairy Tail and Natsu, but I need you to hold yourself together through this next part." Gray said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, the look of pure anger not wavering from his eyes and the blonde could tell he was restraining it as best he could.

"After Alvarez, I don't think much will get to me." Lucy said, hoping the confident tone she thought she said it with was convincing enough.

"No doubt we've all been through a lot because of that, but you haven't seen the things I have and everything past me could only make up a fraction of it." The celestial spirit mage knew that her tone didn't work on him and the gaze he was giving her told her enough of what little she knew about the darkest bits of bloody combat.

Gray stepped out onto the main street as Lucy followed close by and she immediately shot a hand up to her mouth to hold back the bile that was forming in her throat. Bodies laid askew on the ground, some overlapping each other while others with severe damage dealt to them were barely recognizable. These were merely the bodies of both factions fighting each other, what really set Lucy on the edge and have the formation of tears at the corner of her eyes were the lifeless bodies belonging to the innocent people caught in the crossfire. It was heartbreaking watching the unmoving bodies of children resting in the arms of their mothers, their fathers' bodies barely a few feet away in what would mostly have been them trying to defend their families.

The spirit mage knew that lives were going to be lost, but killing the innocent was a commonly understood topic that should not be exercised as they were allowed to live; they had no part in their conflict and thus not justified as a hostile opponent. Lucy weeped sorrowfully as the sight of a mother holding her daughter in her arms captured her attention, especially when the the weapon that had killed them both remain plunged in the little girl's body and stretched into her mother's chest. She knew the enemy had no regard when it came to fighting the royal army, but attacking the innocent was unbearable to comprehend and a new feeling swelled into her heart.

A pure unadulterated anger blazed within her as the sight of every dead non-combatant filled her gaze, the feeling of wanting to take revenge for what the enemy had done to these poor people and their families. She was brought out of her anger when she heard a crash nearby and looked over at Gray as he lifted a destroyed stand off a middle aged man, but she could see the severe wounds he sported. Even if Gray iced his wounds, she could only pray that the man would hold out long enough until he received proper medical attention and that only fueled the rage burning in her as even they were helpless in rescuing those who need it the most.

"Hey old man you'll be alright, just hang in there." Gray said as he pulled the man out of the rubble and leaned him against a nearby wall, preparing to ice over his wounds until the injured man held his hands away from him.

"Thanks for trying kid, but I know I won't make it... I'm already feeling cold.'' He said as he dropped his hand away from Gray's, leaving a trail of blood on his arms although he cracked a smile as he saw the guild mark on the young man's chest. "I knew Fairy Tail would show up to stop this mess."

"You're going to make it so shut up alright, and you're cold because I'm an ice mage." Gray retorted as he froze over the areas where blood seeped much more openly, hoping some of their allies would be able to find him once they left. "What happened to you?"

"Bastards rushed the streets and went after anyone they could get their hands on," the man replied as he cough harshly and hissed as the ice spread through his wounds, "I saw those creatures that came with them tear through all these people with no remorse and we tried fending them off until the soldiers would arrive."

"That stall must've collapsed on top of you during the fighting then. What about the people they were trying to grab?" Lucy asked as she kept look out, but the sounds of fighting still seemed pretty far away from them.

"Can't say, too much going on for me to focus on them without losing my life, but please do me this favor." He sifted through his pocket before pulling out a picture from his wallet and handing it to Gray. "I know they took them, they took my family and I want them back. Please Fairy Tail, get my wife and daughter back from these scumbags."

"We'll get them back and the others too, bet on it." Gray said as he helped him up and placed him inside a broken into home for his safety.

"When you find them, tell them Cullen sent you. Just so they know that I made it out of this massacre." Both mages nodded to the man before continuing on their destination, Gray handing the photo over to Lucy in case he lost it if he ever stripped his pants.

It settled it for Lucy that this enemy is the worst kind to ever exist, from attacking with no real provocation to kidnapping innocent people for some ransom no doubt once they lose the battle. The blonde knew that once the others got word of this, powerful justice will befall the enemy and the captives will be rescued by any means at their disposal. Mavis knows how they'll treat them until they make their demands and Lucy hoped Fairy Tail will be able to save them before that ever happens. She glanced over at Gray and knew that there was a cold fury brewing in him, she knew of his story so the knowledge of a father wanting his family back is motivation enough for him to push himself. She left her musings when the ice mage abruptly stopped and turned to her, but the spirit mage didn't understand why they did as they hadn't found the missing platoon yet.

"There's fighting in the next street over, but it'll take us some time before we can even get there so we're taking a short cut." Gray kneeled down and slammed his hand onto the pavement, instantly creating a column of ice beneath them to jump onto a nearby roof.

Once they landed, they began crossing a few more roofs before coming up on the fighting with a bird's eye view and grimaced at the sight. Fiorean soldier bodies lay everywhere in the street as a small force was in a circle in the middle, surrounded by enemies at their sides and no real means of escape. The circle consisted of perhaps two and half squads with shields raised as it was no doubt their final stand and at the center was a woman shouting at her men.

"This is it men! Our comrades lay before us, slain for protecting the country they love and giving us just a little more time to live!" She shouted as she looked at both ends of the street that were filled with armored soldiers and monsters. "We won't let their deaths be in vain! This is our final stand and we will all die fighting to the last breath, taking as many of them with us as we can!"

She was met with a collective cheer as the soldiers hardened their stances, Gray noticing the twitch of shield here and there from those preparing for the end. Luckily they now have a pair of reinforcements just as strong as an entire battalion's worth. The ice mage quickly instructed Lucy to head for the other end of the street to deal with that half of the enemy as he went for the other. He noticed that a few soldiers were better adorned then others and there was no doubt in his mind that the one riding the horse further behind was supervising these men. Target priorities he had to take into account, but the large congregation of enemies was a good enough chance of any for him to test out an area of effect attack he was developing after seeing Natsu do similar ones for a while.

He found a good middle ground amongst all the soldiers and calculated as fast as he could how much time he had before the enemy would react and fight him off, the element of surprise gave him all the time he needed to take down over half these guys swiftly. Gathering his magic and ethernano in the air, Gray jumped incredibly high into the air to get an effective area and as luck would have it, the soldiers had a row between them just for him.

"Ice Repulse!" Gray shouted as he landed harshly in the dividing row, the ethernano and ice magic exploding violently around which sent dozens of enemies hurling through the air in all directions.

The sudden force sent the men holding the line at the front to fall forward in surprise and watched as their allies fell from the air right in front of them, many of which had no idea what had just happened. Orders were being shouted from one mouth to the next and amidst all this chaos, one lone figure stood at the center with his hands clasped together before numerous spears were flung at them. They all believed to have met their ends when they made contact as sharp pains wracked their bodies, but they only felt cold numbing pain and failed to find the strength to get back up. One imperial soldier watched in awe and fear as a shirtless young man no older than himself fought his comrades single handedly with nothing more than his fists and an ethereal blade of ice to simply parry any blade coming at him. He couldn't believe his eyes to see any form of warrior go into battle with nothing more than pants, but he knew it was hopeless to fight him once he saw what he did next.

The shirtless young man clasped his hands together again and a chain shot forth from his palms that flew as far as where his captain stood on his horse and it wrapped around him effectively. The chain wielder pulled strongly on it and with such strength that his captain's face literally flew into his palm before being forcibly slammed into the wall of a nearby home. Worse still was that it had been enough to shatter his helmet completely and he didn't know whether he was still breathing after an attack like that, but he wouldn't want to be the one to find out unlike others who blindedly charged him with no strategy. The soldier rather take his current pain on the grand as a defeated man rather than gain this beast of man's ire and suffer a similar fate like his captain. He wondered how his allies on the other side are fairing, it would have been a slaughter with their forces together, so it would be simple for just one side to defeat what remained of this world's army in the area.

He regretted all those thoughts as he painfully turned his head to see past the circle of hostile shields to the other side of them, but he swore his eyes were deceiving him as a scantily clad woman with a whip destroyed the ground before her with a single stomp. His comrades on that side lost their balance, some even falling onto their hindquarters from the force of it although the soldier feared that woman just as equally as even her punches sent his men flying. Even those who hid behind shields yelled in terror as she broke through them like parchment, but it didn't stop there as she commanded her very own great axe wielding minotaur that was easily cutting through their ranks just like her. The fallen soldier felt complete terror at the awesome might these two individuals possessed, but next to it he felt utter humiliation as the soldiers they once surrounded before cheered them on and no longer feared for their lives. Some even sheathing their weapons in satisfaction and it was enough to show him that they were put to shame by two people and feared what it would mean for his fate and the Empire's if there are others like the shirtless young man and the scantily clad blonde woman.

It wasn't long before the enemy soldiers had all been defeated by Gray and Lucy's hands, the ice mage picking his shirt back up and cracking his knuckles as he merely thought of these men as a small workout since they didn't compare as much to the soldiers of the Alvarez Empire. It was an interesting situation to say the least as the Fairy Tail mages hadn't expected the disarray of troops once they started their attack, like they hadn't thought about being attacked from behind and above them before. As for the Fiorean soldiers, they were all grateful for seeing the Fairy Tail guild mark in their moment of need and sent personal prayers of thanks that they came when they did and towards their queen for bringing them. Many of which went off to regain their senses and take a moment of rest while the woman who was commanded them began walking up to them.

She had short dark hair with a braid starting from the back of her head, going around the top and back to where it began, sharp brown eyes held a subtle sense of gentleness and complete set of royal knight armor with minor accents of rose made up the rest of her look. Once she finally came up to them, she bowed her head in respect and gratitude for their timely rescue. She had yet to say anything, but both mages knew she had her own personal fears of the situation had they not arrived when they did.

"I'm captain Lelianna Aster and on behalf of what remains here, I thank you for coming to our rescue." She lifted her head once again and let out a shaky breath that she had been keeping in for who knows how long. "That whole thing spelled the end for us and even I had shaky legs to come face to face with the end."

"Well Captain Aster that's all over with. Fairy Tail's here to put an end to all this." Lucy replied confidently, but she was busy trying to avoid stepping on anything that used to be on the inside of a person, as morbidly as that sounded, else she'd throw up whatever was left inside her stomach. "We know about your situation and Captain Gladiolus has already been able to get more reinforcements when he went to the castle."

"Tatsumi's gonna grill me for not getting to him, but our attention was here and what was happening to the civilians." Aster replied as Gray had decided to speak up this time, mostly to get this conversation over with as they still needed to push the advance.

"Speaking of which, there is a survivor on the next street over that we tended to. He needs medical attention and says that the enemy's been dragging people away while the attack is underway." He watched the puzzled look the captain had as if she was thinking of something before letting the thought go.

"I hadn't seen abductions happening before, but I have seen them slaughter innocents with my own eyes. As for his wounds, we can help him back to a medical tent." Aster replied as she knew these mages couldn't stay in the area any longer since they are most likely needed somewhere else. "Sorry I can't assist you on your push forwards, but I don't have any more men with me and this lot deserves some rest after all we've lost.

"It's fine, we couldn't ask for you guys to push yourselves after being surrounded like that." Lucy replied as Gray began to move towards the sounds of explosions coming further south. "Good luck and stay safe everyone!" The blonde called out as she ran after Gray whose steps seemed to be filled with purpose.

As they continued to run, they noticed the singed ground around them and knew that Natsu hadn't been in the area as these seemed more controlled compared to his wild flames. It didn't sit right with either of them as this was a populous area and large amounts of people come through the area a day so it meant many negatives with little to no positives for the people here. They had stopped taking in their surroundings as a shadow flew over head, Lucy believed Happy came to look for them but fell completely silent as a small purple dragon flew by them again. This time she managed to see a rider on its back and couldn't believe that they had a means of controlling the air with small dragons.

"Gray do you see that!"

"I sure do and it's coming down now!" Gray quickly formed an ice bow, lead the tip and took aim; knowing that dragon scales were tough he strengthened his ice arrow as much as he could and released his shot. He scored a direct hit on the wing and the small dragon came crashing down with its rider who got to his feet all wobbly before steadying himself.

He drew a dagger from a small sheath on his hip and charged Gray, the ice mage easily dodging his attempts before he disarmed the armored man though it didn't stop his assault. He tried to go hand to hand, but it was no use against the ice mage as he effectively pummeled him into submission until the soldier couldn't stand on his own feet anymore. As for the dragon, both mages were surprised when they came up to it and found out that not only did Gray's arrow hit, it also pierced a wing and severely wounding a leg that must've gotten worse in the crash. Lucy watched as her companion created an ice sword and aimed it at the dragon's heart, at first she watched him struggle before his sword began plunging into it until it was deep enough that the beast stopped moving entirely.

The raven and blonde haired duo continued their way towards the south with all the explosions while Gray began to explain to Lucy that he was wondering what was the threshold those dragon scales had before his ice sword could go through. He had actually been surprised that it was pretty moderate in comparison to what he initially thought it was and it reasoned why his arrow did so much damage as it was at full power when he fired it. The spirit mage was actually interested in that as she would've thought they had stronger scales for being dragons, but it looked like some of their magic and weapons can bring them down. Though it also drew on the fact that whoever their enemy was had access to lesser dragons, as she was calling them for now, and had enough time to train people to ride them so this attack had to be in the making for a while. Lucy couldn't continue her thoughts as screams filled her ears, not just any but dozens of men crying out in agony and in serious pain not very far from them and that was when another explosion came.

Lucy and Gray had managed to find the direct source and the blonde brought a hand to her mouth in hour as Natsu unleashed a dragon's roar against enemy soldiers, effectively immolating them into a crisp while those not in the blast range screamed their lungs out as their armor began melting into their skin. There was a gleam on the dragon slayer's face as he fought off those brave, or stupid, enough to face him head on and all were punched away by a fiery kick or fist. More screams followed as he sent a wing attack at a group looking for cover, then began charging another roar towards a number of them who were defeated earlier before Gray and Lucy's arrival. As for the ice mage, he had enough and jumped in front of the defeated soldiers with an ice shield in play. It came none too soon as Natsu unleashed his roar and the ice shield, with Gray holding it together, managed to deflect all the flames that came their way although it wouldn't deflect Gray's anger to what he just saw.

"What the hell are you doing Natsu!?" Gray yelled as he marched up to the pink haired slayer, slamming his forehead against Natsu's with a challenging glare to match his emotions.

"What does it look like ya ice bastard!? I'm doing what we came here to do, aren't I!?" Natsu yelled back as Lucy look aghast at his words and wondered if he truly understood what he was doing at the moment they arrived.

"You are, are you!? Then tell me why are you killing all these people!?" Gray glared daggers at Natsu as this wasn't how they conducted themselves before and he didn't believe they were going to start to now.

"These aren't people Gray, they are lowly monsters! Have you seen what they did to the people here, have you seen what they do to a woman that didn't fall in line!?" The pink haired slayer cried out as he tried to get past the ice mage to deal with the last of the enemy soldiers in the area, but Gray wasn't going to let him pass as he shoved him back.

"I may not have seen what they do to them, but I have seen what they do to the civilians. I know how angry you are Natsu, trust me I feel the same, but we can't go off killing them all like we want to!" Gray reasoned as Natsu shoved him back, this time giving each other enough space to see each other entirely instead of just each other's face.

"I've done it before, so why do you think you can stop me now!?" The dragon slayer challenged as he barred his teeth, his eyes filled with righteous fury for the justice on the behalf who have fallen to the injustices of this random enemy. "These bastards need to pay, they need to pay for what they put these people through!"

"But Natsu you just can't go killing people like that, enemy or not they are still human beings!" Lucy interjected this time before Gray could get some more words in as life was precious and both she and Gray did their best to spare the lives of the people they fought earlier. "If we lose sight of caring for lives than you become no better than a dark mage."

"We have the power to protect the people, like this scum had the power to take and abuse them as much as they wanted!" Natsu's anger seemed to flare as he continued to think back to the darkness he could call the lowest point of humanity that he saved the innocent from. "This is war Lucy, it's either kill or be killed and I'm making sure **my** people and guildmates live to see the next day." He said the last part more in turn to Gray who brushed off the slight accusation with a follow up argument he had for Natsu's statement.

"But we are not soldiers you idiot! We are a guild, a guild that believes in Fiore's laws even if we break them, that knows life itself has to be cherished and that we have a responsibility to do what is right!" Natsu growled at that as he was no idiot to what the guild stood for beside being a family, but why couldn't those two see his side on this and that what he was doing was justified.

"Then maybe we should be if it'll make it easier on you to live with the fact of me killing this lowly scum. Ask any of the others and they'd all agree with how I'm handling things!" Lucy could see that it was going nowhere with two bull headed guys like Natsu and Gray when it came to strong beliefs, so it meant that she needed to calm Natsu down from his fury as his body was alight without his own realization of the fact.

"You have your view on this Natsu, but you must understand that we have great power at our fingertips and you especially have to understand that. You alone count for an entire army, so it means we need to have greater responsibility to not use our power without proper cause." She needed Natsu to see reason as it hurts a lot more to know that her best friend hadn't much averse to killing an enemy than she had first thought. "We have to show that even if we are power houses on our own, we can show mercy to them once they are beaten."

"I know that just like you do, but you're not getting it Luce, if you saw what I did and that happened to you than I would've burned the entire country these guys came from on my own! I'm dishing out payback for the lives that were ruined and monsters like them deserve an early grave!"

"You hot headed moron, calm down for a second and see her reason. We are Fairy Tail mages; we uphold true virtues and killing others, even if you think it's justified, isn't the answer we strive for!" Gray was getting aggravated with Natsu and the more he spoke, he hated to admit this, the more his words started to make sense to him and he felt the need to deal his own justice. "We are leagues above these guys to think that killing them is our only option!"

"Then what if instead of Deliora destroying your life, it was these guys? You'd still want to get revenge on them for what they did to you and your life would still end up just as messed up as you are now." Natsu sneered although he realized too late that it was a low blow and got the message quite clear as he saw Gray's eyes widen slightly at his claim. "I might've gone too far, but my point still stands."

"No I get it, I get what you are trying to say Natsu. No need to hold back on my behalf, I'm a grown man and I can take it." Gray merely said as he shoved passed him, kicking the face of an armored soldier as he was beginning to regain consciousness and knocking him back out again. "But let me you tell you this Natsu; I might've ended up the same, I might've lost everything again just because I was selfish and saw what I was trying to do as righteous justice for the people I lost, but it wouldn't change what happened. Even if I got rid of them like I'd set out to do, the scars will still be there and they won't go away."

Natsu stayed silent as a bit of his anger at the current situation petered out, slowly understanding that he might've hit a very sensitive nerve with Gray and it was one that everybody knew not to mess with. It bothered the dragon slayer that he was being calm about it when compared to the old times where he'd fly off the handle on anyone that spoke to him like that.

"But I learned to change, like Lucy said; I have power at my fingertips and I've learned when to deal retribution without killing someone. You have your way of doing things and I have mine, but you should learn how much those ways will affect you before it's too late. I've learned the hard way, so I'll try saving you the trouble and say "I ended up just as messed up" as I am now." Gray concluded as he turned his back and stalked away from the two, Natsu speechless to his advice and Lucy incapable of putting what just happened in words. "Let's get moving you two, the flaming moron's already cleared out his part of the city so that means we're clearing enemies out of everything up to Laxus' position."

Lucy followed along shortly as Natsu lagged behind and she could only wonder how much that was boiling beneath her pink haired best friend's heart concerning Gray; summing it up for quite a while for how long those had been friends for. The blonde has seen Gray hurt before, but the way he handled this just didn't sit right, the least he could've done was yell back but he only calmly spoke back to Natsu and that was bothering her. Judging by the slayer's behaviour at the moment, she knew it was affecting him too, but Lucy could only place it under letting your emotions go too far. Though she had to admit that the pink haired slayer was right, this was war like those times before although Gray made it clear that they needed to uphold all that they stood for even during this unsettling time. This could very well be war in Lucy's eyes now and it's only bringing undue stress on her friends and she had no clue how much this could go on for any of their sakes before bridges start burning. A subtle pun if only to brighten her mood just a little bit, but she knew it wouldn't be enough for those two if she told them.


	4. Battle of Crocus Pt IV

**A/N:** _I'm sorry for not uploading in a long while, but my classwork picked up pretty harshly the same week I last uploaded so I've been very busy as of late. Things have calmed down a bit, but please bear in mind that these updates will come when I have some free time. Thanks for understanding in advance and I'll leave you to read this chapter._

* * *

Battle of Crocus Pt. IV

This was unreasonable...

Worse than that, it was downright idiotic to a level of simply calling this a suicide run with every wave that came at Laxus. The knights had every right to be weary and cautious as what the enemy failed in armor, training and weapons, they made up for it in sheer numbers. The bulk of the things the blonde dragon slayer faced were creatures so low tiered to him you'd think he got stuck on a b-class request, with the real danger of these things outnumbering you. It was a pathetic sight to see these monsters rush him with bloodlusted eyes and sadistic grins to merely be electrocuted to death with a powerful lightning strike or storm, depending on the group size.

As for the humans he faced, simple fodder he could take care of without a care in the world though he tried to avoid killing them. Mainly as him keeping a silent vow he made years ago to uphold his grandfather's views, but if it were him from before his exile then Laxus would no doubt have killed at least over a hundred men by now. Though it doesn't go without saying that he has killed a few moronic thinking soldiers that didn't know when to give up and stay down. He had to give them credit for being resilient, but they became examples at how far he'll show mercy before they'd become a stiff on the ground.

Of course it didn't have the desired effect he was hoping for as the enemy only grew stronger in their determination in trying to get past him. Laxus could respect their fighting spirit to a minor degree, but whoever their commander was had to be the biggest and stupidest asshole he couldn't wait to lightning slam into next week. There's a point where you should avoid wasting your men to attack a major threat if they fall like flies every four seconds, but this guy only believes in siege numbers in the blonde's honest opinion.

Overwhelm the opponent with massive numbers and they will fall to the sheer might of it; basic and very costly as a tactic that only works with rustic forms of battle. With Laxus' years spent on trying to make Fairy Tail a powerful fighting force in the past, he'd pick up on battle tactics when the possible personal guild war would erupt. Though the force he faced was pretty lackluster to say the least as their mages were too simple to identify and eliminate that the dragon slayer was rather disappointed that he wasn't going to have a decent magic battle. He had to admit, though, that it was a very interesting sight to see dragon riders within their ranks.

For about the first ten seconds he saw them anyways.

Having the aerial advantage was not a very favorable thing within the enemy's hands, so a good lightning storm and it was raining dragon bodies and soldiers galore. Laxus wouldn't admit it, but he had noticed a few who had managed to escape, but trusted the others to bring them down with ease. Sadly the massive amounts of bodies that laid before him was becoming a very unpleasant sight, even for him. So, as casually as he could with his arms crossed, he began walking forward and threw the occasional punch when he allowed an enemy the chance to get near him.

The blonde realized his own cockiness when an adorned armored hostile struck a minor cut onto his hand as he caught his blade end of his sword, quickly realizing that he had an enchanted blade in his possession. After throwing this soldier into a nearby wall, Laxus destroyed the sword and made a mental note about it when he would report back in when this was all over.

In all this supposed "mayhem" the enemy was causing before he arrived, Laxus' hope to use some of his more pronounced attacks died out since a single lightning roar managed to decimate a large portion of enemies he faced. A part of him was actually starting to feel sorry for these bastards at how outclassed they were against one man, but that too died out when a few retreating Fiorean soldiers told him of what atrocities the enemy committed during the first hour of the attack. That pretty much was it before he became the literal vanguard all by himself and held the line until the enemy finally wised up and decided to split their forces in two other directions.

It was noticeable at first when soldiers would appear behind him, but as of now it had stopped completely. In his casual walk forward, the dragon slayer could tell that the rest of Fairy Tail's reinforcements had arrived to deal with the ones he couldn't. It was about time they should up as the fun in all this was pretty much nonexistent and the blonde slayer whole heartedly believed that fighting a wyvern would provide more enjoyment than this.

A complaint had formed in the back of Laxus' mind for his Gramps' idea of formulating this counter attack team since it was just too overpowered. He understood that caution was necessary for a battle of this scale, but with first hand experience, the slayer knew that it was too much. Sure there were a number of fires that needed to be put out, metaphorically and literally, but even just sending Natsu and Erza would've been enough to drive the enemy back. Whoever these guys were, they had no idea how knee deep in shit they just got themselves into for messing with Fiore and in turn its number one guild; Fairy Tail.

* * *

Gray had yet to speak with Natsu ever since their confrontation and Lucy was worried about it, given that they couldn't afford to be divided during a crisis. Both mages had a point on this topic, to a certain extent, but the way they handled the others differing view pretty much brought on the argument. Natsu said some words that the blonde tried very hard to believe that he wasn't thinking about them for a long time, but they way he sounded so resolute made it out otherwise. Then Gray goes on to just take it and leave it as is which bothered her since he wasn't one to let such a thing slide, so Lucy could only assume that there was a reason to it.

The ice mage could have either taken it to heart and decided to deal with it at a later time (or not at all) or decided to heed his words, but dropped the argument for the sake of saving lives and the city. As for herself, Lucy didn't know where to stand as she hadn't known the two as long as they had each other, plus she didn't dare to pick sides on the subject when it very well could cause more problems.

There wasn't many things Lucy hated in her life; save for chaos, mindless slaughter and destruction, but war pretty much encompasses all that. So in effect she hated war and now with more reason too; it pretty much caused an unspoken rift her two close friends had buried very deep beneath the ground to emerge.

Kill some to save hundreds maybe even thousands versus overpowering them, but not out right killing them. This was not a choice, it was an ultimatum between Natsu and Gray who have chosen their own sides to this long ago. Anyone else could choose which route to follow, but to them it was pretty much based on their history of where they stood and that greatly differed. If the blonde had to be honest, her mind stayed on the topic just to fill in the silence and to draw her attention away from everything. All Lucy did was repeat to herself that it was almost over, this was going to end with them winning although she knew it wouldn't simply end here.

"How long until we reach Laxus?" Natsu complained as they only fought the occasional group of enemies on their way, which of course only lasted a few seconds at best.

"Who knows Natsu, but we'll get there when we'll get there." Lucy voiced out immediately as Gray snorted at his question, no doubt bound to make some sort of comment that'll anger the dragon slayer.

"Fine whatever, but as soon as I see the main force of these bastards, I'm taking them all on!" If Gray hadn't rolled his eyes from her peripheral view, then Lucy would've done it in his stead as she couldn't believe his eagerness in such a situation.

Once again, no one bothered to say anything as the team ran and fought in silence since the tense atmosphere between the two mages still persisted. Gray would merely call out his attacks or give a heads up to Lucy, but didn't bother to give any banter to Natsu while the dragon slayer seemed to hold himself back when fighting an opponent. He wasn't killing much anymore, but who could tell if the ice mage's words got to him or for the fact that the blonde was present and she could be made to watch him take another human being's life.

That topic occupied her mind a good bit as well, yet she couldn't help herself but look on with heartache as they came across those affected by all this fighting. The survivors varied between families to just a single person hidden away in a crate or backroom the enemy hadn't bothered looking into. Though the worst of it that tore at Lucy's heart was the sight of two boys, brothers no doubt, holding each other in fear as the elder tried to make sure the younger didn't turn around to see their parents' lifeless bodies. The blonde felt for them, but it didn't compare to the way her guildmates reacted as they seemed to strike the enemy much harder than before. Those boys were now left to whatever family they have left, but it's just the knowledge that they're orphans for today stuck out the most.

The Fairy Tailers could empathize with them as they each were, in a way, orphans who had lost their parents. Lucy knew she didn't have such a harsh example for herself as her father lived for years after she left, until he passed away some time before she came back from being trapped in time. That was for her, but the blonde knew that it wasn't the case for Natsu and Gray as they were actual orphans.

Natsu is technically hundreds of years old, his family died centuries ago with Zeref and Igneel being the only family he actually had though how far did that extend for the black mage was anyone's guess. The dragonslayer thought to have lost Igneel when he was just seven years old and never knew about his older brother until years later in life. Still, the guild is his family now though it's the nonexist connection with anyone through blood that marks him an orphan.

The same could be put upon Gray as the guild was just as much a part of him as he is to it, but Lucy could never shake the knowledge that the guild was the third family he has. He may not openly admit to it, but just learning what she has about the ice mage's past is enough to dub him an orphan. They were all family now, Fairy Tail was where they all belong, but the blonde never put it into perspective that a few prominent members were orphans.

There she went again, distracting herself from the problem at hand, but would anyone really blame her for doing so? Her musings stopped as the loud crack of a lightning bolt snapped her out of her thoughts and a sea of defeated bodies laid before her as the culprit slowly walked his way forward. She could hear the pained groans from those on the ground and sighed to herself in relief that they were at least alive, though Gray had began clearing what looked like a collapsed garage as fast as he could.

"What are you doing Gray?" Lucy asked as he pushed off another beam with great force, revealing a magicycle in adequate condition given from where it was cleared from.

"I don't know if that lumbering blonde wall of power has noticed it yet, but the structure they told us about is right in front of him." He replied as he jumped onto the seat, silently apologizing to the owner, wherever that person was, that he was going to commandeer it for a bit. "Not only that, but I see a cart being shoveled into it. Now I don't know about you two, but I can rightfully say that it isn't filled with their wounded."

"Could they be filled with the people these soldiers were grabbing earlier?!" Lucy gasped in horror as their fates would be left to Mavis knows what if the enemy wasn't stopped.

"I don't really know and we've got to find out immediately, so I'm going to go ahead and stop them before those carts go any further." Gray said as he tried to search for the SE plug, but had come to realize that this magicycle was a model built from Alvarez. "Alright this thing's lacrima powered, looks like I won't need to waste magic to get there."

"I'm going with you..." Natsu voiced out as he began to step forward, but Gray merely shoved past him. "What they hell was that for ice princess!?"

"I'm going there on my own, you're pretty much useless once you get on." Gray pointed out as even Natsu couldn't hold out long enough against his motion sickness. "You'll have to catch up to Laxus on foot with Lucy and don't blame me for any of this, I didn't send Happy away when I knew I could handle the situation on my own."

Natsu gritted his teeth as he thought that Happy would be much suited to look for survivors in need of air lifting while he took care of the trash that littered the streets. He was unsure of where his furry blue companion was at this point, but he detested the fact that Gray pointed out how he couldn't help him. There was a way for him to help end this, but all that stood in his way was his motion sickness and the only person who could help him with that was off at the arena.

"Fine, but don't think this means anything, got it?"

"Whoever said I did? You're the one that came to that conclusion all on your own." Gray replied before revving the lacrima powered engine and speeding off towards Laxus and the giant structure.

* * *

Gray could tell that the odd feeling he was having was due to the fact that he was acting a bit petty for how he behaved with Natsu, but he couldn't help being aggravated by the dragon slayer's unawareness of how wrong he was. They have power that overshadows anything that has been thrown at them thus far, it was unnecessary to kill these men if a single punch could just as well knock them out. Death wasn't the answer to this, for a soldier it very well is, but they were Fairy Tail mages. As much as he stood by these words he couldn't deny that he had a similar thought as the dragon slayer, but his memories kicked in to remind him of what chaos would bring.

All he had to do was look in front of him and be reminded of all that he hated to see, an acquired thing to say the least but years of nightmares does that to a person. A dreaded sight to see, but he had to let those thoughts go and created a dividing plow with his magic at the front of the magicycle to get through. He flung fallen soldier after soldier off to the side as he rode forward until he had a decent enough clearing from the point in which Laxus began walking. Speaking of the blonde dragon slayer, Gray needed a clearer way towards the structure and Laxus was just the man to open a path for him.

"Laxus! Clear a path for me!" The ice mage called, unsure if his voice had been picked up by his super hearing, but had been assured of it once he noticed the lightning gathering around the slayer.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" Came the tremendous shout from Laxus' mouth as the wave of lightning cleared a straight path before him, though Gray didn't admire his handiwork as he zoomed past him at full speed.

It wasn't long before Gray could see the hulking structure, the opening so massive that it could possibly house the old guild hall in the opening. As for what was inside, there wasn't much to go off by as only looming darkness continued inward. The ice mage clicked his tongue as he noticed another blockade of troops in front of him that survived Laxus' attack, but he wasn't about to be stopped by them any time soon.

"Ice Make: Battering Ram!" He focused his magic to the front of the magicycle again and rammed his way through the line of soldiers, going straight inside the building and screeching to a halt with the brakes as he noticed the cart full of innocent people scared for the lives.

The ogre hauling the cart turned to Gray as fast as it could, but the dark haired ice mage immediately froze it solid and created an ice wall separating wherever the structure led to from the entrance he just came through. The captured citizens were terrified about what could have happened to them and there was no doubt in Gray's mind that Erza wouldn't take this lightly, but they weren't out of the woods yet. The sound of boots and armor were coming closer to them and Gray knew that he'd have to do some crowd control for everyone's safety, but at the first signs of the enemy there was an explosion behind their ranks.

"I didn't take you as being the hero sort Gray." Laxus said with a sigh as he stepped his way over more fallen soldiers, he truly wondered how much more of them he had to step over before the end of the day. "Another thing, don't use me as your personal street clearer alright?"

"Glad to see you too Laxus." Gray replied as he created an ice sword, but the blonde dragon slayer swiped his hand and allowed a wave of electricity to comb over the enemy. "Efficient way of taking care of all them, to say the least."

"I've been doing this for hours already, it's too simple at this point that it's actually annoying me now." Laxus replied as he glanced towards the cart filled with relieved civilians knowing Fairy Tail mages had come to their rescue. "Well, shit..."

"What?"

"I thought these assholes were just hauling some spoils of war; silverware, jewelry, antiques even. I had no idea those things were filled with people." The slayer couldn't believe he didn't stop them at the first sign, all the screaming he was hearing confused him from realizing it was citizens of Fiore. "This one's probably the tenth one I've seen now."

"What!" Gray had the sinking feeling that this wasn't the only group of people that had been captured, but to find out that there were nine others before this was absurd. "Mavis help us, we won't be able to do anything at this point...fuck."

Before Laxus could add anything else to the conversation, an enemy soldier staggered to his feet and blew a horn as loud as he could before dropping right back down. The two Fairy Tailers had no idea what that was about until similar sounds throughout the city began to be heard in response. It became painfully obvious that it was a sign of retreat and it meant that whatever hostile forces that were still up and about would be coming straight to them.

"How long do you think the rest of these bastards are going to take to get here?" Laxus asked as Gray freed the captives and instructed them to find shelter as soon as possible.

"Not long, but we won't be facing a large force since the others have no doubt cut them down to size." Gray responded, but had to bite his tongue at the sight of at least one hundred troops rushing their way towards the structure. "Or I could be wrong..."

"Why do their numbers bother you? Didn't you and your team take on at least two thousand cultist before? Not to mention what we did against Alvarez?" It was weird to the blonde dragon slayer to see the ice mage be cautious about this if he had done something far greater before.

"I'm not worried, just very annoyed because I know a certain idiot won't resist all these targets to hit." Just as Gray finished his sentence, a large fireball cleared the area in front of them and an all too familiar voice rang out amidst the settling dust.

"You bastards think you can mess with Fiore and run away!?" Natsu began to single handedly rush the enemy with fists aflame, Lucy trailing not too far behind him although she didn't involve herself in the one sided fight.

It wasn't long before all that remained was a mass of unconscious soldiers and one very pissed off dragon slayer who went on to punch the massive structure to let off some steam. Lucy worried over the fact that he could bring the whole thing down if they let him go on, but Gray assured her that the pink haired slayer knew what would happen if he destroyed it.

In the end, Lucy accepted it and wondered to herself if it was really over. Not by a long shot obviously as minor waves of retreating soldiers or monsters would arrive, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. At first anyway, but all things are never so simple and it became very apparent when the enemy's remaining forces all came together as one.

"You've got to hand it to them, they sure don't go down without a fight." Laxus said as he charged lightning into his hands. "No matter how fruitless it is against us."

"Great, more dragon riders" Lucy voiced out as she transformed into her sagittarius dress, but hadn't noticed the slight flinch Laxus did once she pointed out the purple scaled dragons. "Better take them out before the guys in front get any closer."

"How come they get to ride dragons?" The pink haired slayer couldn't believe that the enemy had specific riders for that and quickly realized that they could have been the reason why Happy wasn't flying around.

"Are you seriously awe struck by that?" Laxus couldn't understand how his fellow kin, he assumed in a way, could switch attitudes so easily. Then again, trying to figure it out would only give him a headache so he dropped the thought there.

"In any case, it's better to only have to focus on the ground than that and the sky, so let's take them down" Lucy reaffirmed her simple command, in the sense that no one was going to say anything to get them moving, but Natsu gave her a strange look.

"You sure you can damage one of those things? They are dragons you know." Natsu, being ever so observant, knew that a dragon wasn't an easy thing to kill, so he was unsure if Lucy's magic would even work on a smaller one like that.

"Those things aren't so strong against the right amount of magic, I'm sure Lucy could bring a few of them down herself." Gray vouched for the spirit mage since if his magic could do it, then he was sure Lucy's could too.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion ice princess, I asked Lucy if she could." Natsu glared at the ice mage who only rolled his eyes in response, leaving the other two blondes to sigh tiredly at how much the two loved to argue.

"Have faith in the cheerleader, alright Natsu? " Was all that Laxus said and it had been enough to silence anymore complaints from the pink haired slayer.

With their magic charged, the Fairy Tailers were steadying their aim but before the first magical attack could be fired, a multitude of explosions rang out. They all searched the surrounding area for what had made those sounds until they noticed the dragons spiraling towards the ground with their riders screaming at the top of their lungs. No one had done anything and they didn't see any attack being fired off from the ground, yet the Fairies' wonderings had been solved as a large shadow loomed overhead.

"Would you look at that..." Gray dropped his stance at the sight of Christina, her weapon system firing a volley into the enemy and was slightly impressed that the pretty boys that are likely helping fly her had decent enough aim.

"I wasn't really looking forward to that fight." Lucy fought her fair share, but to stand against the enemy's final attack wasn't what she wanted to go through at all.

"It's about time the "other" calvary showed up. Too bad for them that a lot of people will claim Fairy Tail came when needed at the first call." Laxus had no doubt in his mind that if they were called upon last, their help would be left to clean up duty. "Looks like they'll handle mopping up for us."

Of the four, Natsu had surprisingly kept quiet as the chance to show the bastards one last thing had been taken away from him at the last moment. He couldn't complain as he sided with Laxus on the fact that they could be left to clean up whatever asshole was still alive, but that only drew him back to his conversation with Gray. As much as he already thought about it, now that there wasn't anything else going on for them it left the slayer with much to think about. Then again, what was there to figure out since what did Gray know about what was right during war? He remembered someone saying that all was fair in war or something, so didn't it mean that any way to crush the enemy was fine? Their would be a chance to prove that later.

Even he knew that this whole thing wasn't over yet, they still didn't know why they were attacked or for what the enemy hoped to achieve. Although, the pink haired slayer knew that it was out of the guild's hands now as this was something the royal crown had to deal with and found the fact very annoying. As much as Hisui has done good for Fiore, Natsu knew that all the politics involved for things like this would hold everyone back from taking action. That was what he'd come to hate the most, having to wait before they could do something to help the poor souls that were taken away.

He hated the waiting game.

* * *

This battle had shaken not only Crocus, but Fiore as a whole since an attack on such a scale hadn't been conceived in two years and the country had been in a time of peace. Especially on the capital no less, but what other towns could only assume was vastly different for those fighting with everything they had. The attack felt like an eternity to those who faced waves of enemies, continued to fell soldiers as they tried to push their advance and watch as their comrades gave their lives in the name of protecting their homeland. An eternity summed up in approximately four or so hours, but it had been enough for devastation to widdle itself into the capital and its people. Though the Fiorean royal guard alongside Fairy Tail had managed to repel the enemy very strongly, it was until the rest of the legal guilds had arrived that the enemy's forces had been completely thwarted.

The enemy's losses numbered in the hundreds to thousands, a victory shadowed by the fact that Fiore had lost a few hundred of their own. Which included the number of civilians who had lost their lives defending others or trying to run away from all the fighting to safety. Now it is all left to the Queen and her court to choose the next course of action, but even then there are those who had seen this as a chance to forward their agenda.

In the end the battle had been won, but the fight was far from over.


	5. Aftermath Pt I

Aftermath Pt. I

The city was rebuilding, dozens of people were reunited with loved ones that were lost during all the chaos although not everyone had that luxury. In the week that followed from the attack, a massive ceremony was held in remembrance of those who had died on that fateful day. Families, friends and soldiers alike came out to mourn for those who were caught in the crossfire or sacrificed themselves for Fiore's victory. Though it weighed heavily on the Queen as the attack shouldn't have happened at all and felt the blame should be placed upon her for this tragic event.

Her father had said; "heavy is the head that wears the crown" and all the political actions she's had to get through were nothing in comparison to achieving justice for what had happened. Her thoughts muddled with what the future holds for her country as a dark time is fast approaching with uncertainty clouding everything before, which led her to her current arrangement. Seated at the head of her council, Queen Hisui has been speaking with top officials on the matter at hand and it seemed that everyone was too split to come to an agreement.

A portion were for a full-blown war with the enemy and to make them pay for their transgressions against Fiore, while others had been against the notion. They had claimed that undergoing such action would cause uproar with the citizens as leading more of their fellow countrymen to their death wouldn't help the situation from getting any worse. In the Queen's opinion, she was in accordance with avoiding a war at all costs as she's seen how disastrous such an endeavor would be on Fiore. The Alvarez Empire's attack fresh in many people's memory and what had happened to some mages who fought against its army.

"We can't sit idly by and allow the enemy to get away with their attack! We may have dealt a harsh blow in retaliation, but what's to say they won't come back with an even larger force?" Saul Bauru, a respected politician in Fiore's Senate of Land Representatives, argued aggressively as he wouldn't allow weakness to represent his country.

"You can make that point, but why would we want to send away more innocent lives to God knows where the Gate leads to? We'll only further destroy a means of protecting ourselves when they return or a threat on our own turf decides to make a move." Samuel Devonshire, an equally respected politician as Saul, countered as the need to shed more blood was needless.

"And you have us do what? Wait patiently until the enemy strikes again? Please try to see the bigger picture here, our people seek retribution and they should be given it." What many know about Saul is the fact that he wishes to resort disputes in the timeliest manner, often consisting of violence since it gains the most results for him.

"There must be alternatives to fighting, not everything should be solved with both sides brandishing swords against the other." As for Samuel, many familiar with the man know his pacifistic nature although it only goes so far as he is willing to resort to violence when left with no option. "We may walk a path of ruin I don't want our people to suffer through, you know this as well Saul."

"All I see is us looking like cowards when we should be showing the might of Fiore for all to see, we even have the most powerful guild following our Queen to support us." Saul hated to be seen as weak as it didn't fit his belief that only when one is strong do they prevail.

"As supportive as the two of you are, you both fail to see the implications our ally will have of us if we do not act accordingly." Clara Greybourne, one of the country's leading ambassadors that stood alongside Hisui when creating and signing the treaty with Alvarez, spoke up as it meant a great deal to save face when handling a surprise attack like this.

"You think Alvarez will back out of the treaty because we won't counter this cheap tactic used against us? They should be helping us in our time of need as an ally, it was their technology that failed to detect this enemy." Saul spat as he couldn't come to accept that Fiore had been surprised in such a way with technologies so advanced at their disposal.

"Our technology did not fail you, this "Gate", as you all seemed to have called it, was magically summoned by powers not of our own." A new voice was heard as all heads turned to the entrance of the room to see a bikini clad woman in a long coat make her way deeper into the room. "Keep up Lenard, would you?"

"It's Leonardo, Miss Myu." A well-dressed man said in reply following close after her, nervously chuckling as he entered the room unlike his casual companion.

"And who are you?"

"This, Mr. Bauru, is the ambassador representing Alvarez; Miss Brandish Myu." Clara said as the aforementioned woman gave a curt nod before sitting down at an available seat with Leonardo quickly sitting beside her. "And with her is a representative of the Alvarez Research and Development League; Leonardo Marcetti."

"I prefer being addressed as Lady Brandish, but Miss Myu is just as fine too." Brandish said as she looked uninterested towards the elder gentlemen and women within the room, save for the Queen herself as she knew who to give her respect to. "Leonardo is fine for him as well."

"As you say, Miss Myu." Leonardo quickly began rummaging through the bag he came in with while Saul wasn't so impressed with her entrance or title.

"Well young lady, what made you qualified for such a position?" Clara had to restrain herself from reprimanding Saul's behavior as his lecherous eyes strayed away from the woman's eyes and down to her ample bosom.

"Focus your eyes on mine if you know what's best for your wellbeing and as for your question, I was a former member of the Spriggan 12 and was able to convince many leading heads of Alvarez to get along with the treaty."

"You were part of the vanguard that attacked Fiore! How could you allow someone like this into the castle my Queen!?" It was Samuel who reacted first as he knew about the former Spriggan 12 that had even managed to convert God Serena into their ranks.

"It's quite alright Mr. Devonshire, she may have been a member years ago, but she had no real part in most of the fighting that actually took place. She was on the sidelines for the majority of the attack."

"That excuses her from what her people did!?" Saul, too, couldn't believe that such a person should be allowed back in Fiore and his claim rallied many other heads as well.

"Enough!" Hisui raised her voice, which easily quieted the room down as the Queen isn't one to raise her voice often. "Guilty by association comes to all your minds, but she did everything in her power to change the minds of her countrymen into becoming our ally. Have respect for the woman who helped the other half of our treaty."

Many bowed their heads in apology towards their queen, which in turn was given to Brandish who wasn't very concerned with the opinions of such weak people. Though she did enjoy the ever-stoic queen upset, if only a little, at her own people.

"Now Miss Myu, could you please explain the reason for your visit." Hisui asked as the bikini clad woman casually flicked Leonardo on the arm who shot like a cannon to his feet.

"Yes, your Highness!" He chuckled nervously after his reaction and cleared his throat as he activated a lacrima projector that produced the Alvarez R&D. L. symbol for all to see.

"This should be good..." Saul remarked sarcastically, but was otherwise ignored by the majority of those in the room.

"After we received word from your kingdom that the radar technology had failed you, we acted as quickly as we could to supply your country the necessary support for your army. A majority of these state of the art tools have just completed testing and are ready for the field, if the need requires them that is." Leonardo flicked his hand as the imaged changed to what looked like a magic mobile, although heavily modified.

"What you are seeing right now is the A12 all-terrain infantry vehicle"

"I call it The Rhino..." Brandish added as everyone looked amongst themselves at the odd name the green haired woman decided to give it.

"Right..." Leonardo said as he regained attention to the projector. "It's capable of reaching speeds of at least one hundred and twenty-five miles an hour, equipped with magic disruption lacrima within the armor plating to diffuse low to mid-strength spells and house at least ten people. All on a lacrima battery, which can be recharged with any mage, to avoid expending magic reserves of any combat mage before a battle."

"That's all nice and dandy, but how do you know we will have use for them?" One representative asked as Leonardo looked to the Queen for an answer.

"All your questions will be answered once he has finished, continue Mr. Marcetti." Hisui said as the man gave a thankful nod to her before changing the slide.

"This next vehicle is the A6 scout cycle"

"Jack Rabbit" Brandish once again added as everyone had quickly and collectively come to the conclusion that the ambassador would be naming many of these tools.

"The A-" Leonardo stopped himself as the stern gaze Brandish was giving him was enough to know that he mispronounced the name. "I mean, the Jack Rabbit is an equal to the...Rhino in terms of operating on our newer lacrima powered technology specifically built for vehicles, but isn't so heavily armored. Capable of withstanding minor spells and physical abuse, its main purpose is to act as the name implied; a scout vehicle. All vehicles will be equipped with small communication lacrimas so that each one can report in much easier across long distances.

"It seats two people, up to three if one or all passengers are of smaller stature. These are the more readily available land vehicles we've got on hand; an aerial variant is still in the works as it's minor issues revolve around the weapon systems. We do have base defense weapons ready for deployment, one leading weapon is the mobile artillery unit..."

Everyone seated had awaited Brandish's remark of what animal this military tool would take, but she shattered expectations as she merely shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll let you name this one, Lenard."

"It's Leonardo Miss Myu and thank you. If you are not familiar with a portion of the design, know that it is very reminiscent of its predecessors and shall be dubbed as Jupiter Mk. III. It can fire at one-fifth the necessary charge time although it comes at the cost of only dealing one-fifth of the damage output to keep it in balance."

"I've heard of this weapon, Fairy Tail has one of their very own although it's only mobile when people move it; what makes this one special?" Another representative noted as some had remembering hearing about a powerful weapon in their hands.

"This is a tracked vehicle with a three hundred and sixty degree turn radius, powerful as artillery and can reconfigure into a heavy assault tank for land combat. Though engagements are best at medium to long ranges. The discharges are very devastating at closer ranges."

"Such a thing should consume great amounts of magic to fire, have you people managed to counter such a thing. It becomes useless if the ones manning the thing are drained of their magic." Saul was intrigued with the weapons themselves, but knew that everything had a weakness to it.

"Our researchers have found a way to bypass the magical drain by using lacrima shells instead of pure magic, very efficient although that's what causes the drop in damage output." Leonardo was a man in his zone when explaining the advancements of their technology compared to the rustic world Fiore kept itself a part of, but even he knew that mages are still the far superior weapon to exist.

"An interesting presentation Mr. Marcetti however, are our troops capable of using such things in live combat?" Samuel could only feel like a fish out of water with all this advancement before him and couldn't begin to fathom the learning curve the soldiers would have to go through to even understand what they're doing.

"If your queen allows it, we'll provide some soldiers to train your troops into using the equipment. As for the Jack Rabbits and Rhinos, so long as they know how to drive either a magicycle or magic mobile then it's pretty straight forward." Brandish answered him in a bored tone as everything else was pretty much radar equipment and mapping devices as they go about the land.

As Leonardo went on to explain other details about what he and his team have been up to, Brandish thought about the pink haired dragon slayer. Natsu was his name if she remembered, but what piqued her interest was for the fact that he looked like he was ready to explode when she caught a glimpse of him on her way here. The green haired woman truly wondered what was riling him up so much and if she'd see him blow his top when she was done here.

* * *

At another section of the castle, the aforementioned Fairy Tail mage was busy pacing angrily long enough that he left burn streaks from where he went back and forth from. He was reaching a limit with those hot air-filled politicians talking and talking about who knows what when they should've been already marching their way into the Gate after the ceremony. How is it not obvious that a threat attacked, killed and kidnapped so the right thing to do is strike back and rescue their own people. But no, they want to talk about some stupid procedures that needed to be done or something boring like what the Magic Council does all the time.

"What could those idiots be talking about in there!?" Natsu angrily growled as he's waited long enough and there wasn't going to be any force known to man that would stop him.

"Those "idiots" are highly respected land representatives, advisors and generals that also include the Queen herself, Natsu." The pink haired slayer thought too soon as a glaring red head stood before him, arms crossed in a very telling fashion that she's just about done with his nonsense.

"Yeah well that doesn't mean they should think too hard about what needs to be done. We can't communicate with the enemy and I know that the only thing they wanted were slaves." It was a sore topic that Erza genuinely hated to discuss, but Natsu was done holding back. "If they spend one more day in there, I'm rushing the damn Gate and bringing back our people alone if I have to."

"And if you get hurt on the other side, what are we supposed to do then?" Erza retorted and Natsu was well aware that she was testing him, but he wasn't in any mood for games.

"I won't get hurt, nothing on their side can hurt me. Their mages are nothing more than jokes, one of their strongest attacks was a combined lightning and fire storm, which I ate in one breath. Steel and iron swords melt before they could even touch me and that's if I haven't melted that stupid armor of theirs to their skin first."

"When did you become so bloodthirsty Natsu?" She'd never heard him speak in such a way, although the pink haired slayer always felt that it was a part of him he rarely showed. "Is killing the enemy the only way you can deal with them; do you not feel remorse?"

"Of course I do, I'm not a monster." He replied defiantly although his anger was still ablaze within him. "But I can't say the same for those bastards, they're the true monster Erza."

"Their actions were heinous no doubt, but holding on to such anger doesn't solve anything either." For some reason Natsu felt like he was almost talking to Gray again, but the requip mage was less annoying and more terrifying by comparison. Though equal parts stubborn when it came to the way he acted when concerning the assholes who invaded. "I harbor a degree of anger for what they did here, but I can't let it consume me and blind me to the bigger problems we have yet to face."

"Easy for you to say Erza, you're a walking tank. Just like me, nothing can even come close to touching you, but it's the people who aren't us that I hold all their anger for."

"What do you mean by that?"

"All these citizens were defenseless when the enemy attacked, captured like wild animals and were beaten like them when they defied their captors." Natsu thought back to all he saw and had been relieved that Happy wasn't around to see any of it for himself. "I saw families being torn apart from the death of a mother or father, children man handled as if they were wild dogs even though they didn't resist and then those poor girls."

Natsu's heart tightened at the memory, he couldn't get rid of the images from his brain no matter how much he wished he could blink them away. It didn't help that Erza looked at him with worry as he fell silent and stared off into the distance, how could he not when he could distinctly remember the scenes vividly from the sights to the smell.

"What happened to the girls Natsu?" How could Erza ask him something like that? He knew she was genuinely worried for him, but Natsu thought she could at least pick up something from the way he said it at least.

"What did they do? The real question is what didn't they do." It makes his blood boil to know how anyone can become such a lowly piece of shit as those soldiers were. "Those monsters beat them, humiliated them in front of friends and families and worse still; they raped them!"

What drives a person to do what they did, they had the upper hand, they showed how powerless their captives were, but to break them that much was sickening. He was angry for those girls and dished out righteous justice, but he held in hatred as the thought of 'what if' floated into his brain.

What if it was someone he knew, what if it was Lucy, what if it was Wendy what if he was too late to save them like he was then? How mentally draining it was to try and help each girl find help or counsel them that it was over. How heart wrenching it was to save one who was no younger then him and watch the life drain out of her eyes only smiling in the end because he stopped all of it from going on any further. Natsu heard of Vulcan doing such things to people, but to see another being just like you do it to one of their own was horrible.

So, there he was on the cusp of shedding a hatred filled tear as he had always believed that even if there was evil in the world, humanity doesn't stoop as low as monsters do but he was proven wrong. Natsu told everything to Erza, if she couldn't see where he was coming from then all that he had seen should help.

"Do you truly believe more bloodshed is the answer Natsu?" Erza asked in a low tone, understanding that the pink haired slayer was not accustomed to seeing something as traumatic as that and truly dealing with it appropriately. "Will you stoop as low as they did just to get even?"

"Of course not! But there will be blood Erza and it's sure as Hell not going to be mine." How many did he kill before Gray's words made him aware of what he was doing or the way Lucy looked at him before he held back on killing the enemy? Probably dozens if not more. "They follow a leader and I'll brand him with my flaming fist just to show his people who the Hell they messed with."

"We are not seekers of vengeance Natsu, leading a path of destruction will only make it harder for us to find all the people that were kidnapped. I know that feeling of pure hatred you're holding onto Natsu, even if you don't want to call it that." From the looks of it, the pink haired slayer could tell that Erza was relenting on him changing his ways if only a little. "It will consume you if you're not careful so please listen to me, not as your teammate, but as family; let go of that hatred before it takes away the good in you."

"I'll let go of it only when I know we've done what needs to be done, no one's going to stop me from that goal. Not even you." As much as he knew that Erza was really watching out for his wellbeing like the elder sister she was to him, he made an ultimatum for the sake of those who suffered. "I'll only show mercy when someone's around me, but I'm not letting Gray stop me again, he has to know that we can't keep our hands clean forever. I've got blood on mine, so you should wonder if he'll own up to what's already on his."

"That's a low blow Natsu, we don't attack our own family like that. You know it hurts him just as much as you losing Igneel forever does, your fight is with those across the Gate not us, not your family." The dragon slayer knew that some part of Erza really hoped to talk him out of this, but he could tell that she'd have to wait and see what he'll do next. "Just know that if you got too far, I will do everything in my power to stop you from destroying yourself any further."

With that, Erza walked off to wherever she was heading as Natsu couldn't even bother to think where the requip mage was going. As the clinking of her armor and steps of her boots began to disappear, he let the last of her words continue to ring through his mind and a part of him felt a sense of relief knowing she meant every word.

"I'm counting on it Erza..."

* * *

At one of many available balconies overlooking the city within the castle, Gray contemplated quietly at how much a city tries to heal after such devastation. It's no easy road to take as an air of sorrow hung over Crocus and he could feel the negative energy emanate greatly even from where he stood high above the city streets. His mark was of no positive help in telling him how bad it was since the thing literally fed off it, a buffet to the mark and a heavy heart for the one it was bestowed upon. Was it truly worth having Natsu against him in an ideology battle of wrong and right during war just so he could avoid the mark becoming too active? A hard question with an even harder way of answering it as if he allowed the mark to have its way then the ice mage would be just like Natsu, worse off as he could still feel the remnants of Natsu's Etherious half somewhere inside of the dragon slayer. Another target to aim for.

The last thing he wanted was to try and kill Natsu again, but that would be a byproduct of what he truly feared. If he listened to the mark, he wondered if that old saying of "power corrupts" would come to pass as he whole heartedly believed that he'd be out of control. He only ever indulged the thing when he delved back to his more darker thoughts, feeding the blasted thing more negative energy although he wished it was just him instead of a whole damn city. The one time he really did feel the true outreaching power his mark had was against Invel, a fight he was nowhere near capable of doing on his own, but the amount of negative energy he expelled at Juvia's death was the catalyst his mark needed to unleash a whole new well of power.

All the fear and terror, rage and hatred, soul crushing loss and death itself had fed his mark, but it still needed just a little more before it could truly be unleashed. Then Juvia had to sacrifice her blood to save him and he tipped over the edge, where the very last time he saw her alive was when she held a loving smile just for him.

Did he dip into insanity? Possibly. Was the world only wishing to torture him by taking away everything he ever cared about? Maybe. Did life intend for him to pay for cheating death mulitple times? He wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't."

But in that moment, he couldn't give a single fuck about any of that.

All he wanted to do was end Invel's pathetic life, he wanted to make him suffer, he wanted his happiness back! At the height of his blinded bloodlust, Invel saved himself from Gray by mentioning the black mage who created the demon that destroyed his life in the first place and the real demon he cherished greatly. That's when he knew that his mark gave him great power, but at the cost of losing almost all sense of self. If the love Erza had for him, the love of the guild and the love Juvia tried to shower him in didn't snap him out of it, either he or Natsu wouldn't be standing here today.

With a minor flick of his hand, Gray conjured a bit of water and allowed it to flow between his fingers to keep himself distracted enough so that he didn't reach for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He gave up the habit a long time ago and still hasn't smoked once, but after all that has happened, he keeps a pack there just as a reminder, a way to feel the weight of a once less complicated life he led.

"You still think about her don't you." A clear statement than a question was said by a new voice very calmly, but Gray was not surprised in the least as he caught the scent of her sweet-smelling shampoo when she was near the balcony entrance, watching him for the past five or so minutes.

"I've learned to let it go bit by bit, but I thought I'd be honoring her if I learned a bit of her magic myself." Gray said as he noticed her blonde hair sway in the wind at the corner of his eye before she began to lean against the railing herself. "Her blood flows through me, Lucy."

"The amount of times you've lost blood, I'm not very sure if any of it is still there by this point." Lucy replied if only slightly awkwardly as it was an odd thing to hear, but then again Fairy Tail was all pieces of weird.

"Knowing how Juvia was, we both know how wrong you are." Gray replied and Lucy awkwardly laughed in turn though his reply was both sad and a bit morbid.

"That's not how blood works you know."

"I know, just a thought I have floating around my mind. Makes a difference sometimes and doesn't others." An interesting way to start off a conversation that was soon followed by silence.

The silence was fine at first, but the blonde couldn't help but watch as the ice mage casually manipulated the water as he weaved it between his hands, and Gray knew that she too missed the blue haired woman to this day. For all the oddities and weird qualities Juvia had, the biggest thing she had was her love, that stemmed beyond any and all of it, that he tended to push off. Lucy felt it stronger than most as she bonded with her on a very personal level before he opened up to her more, so he could tell how the blonde was feeling.

"How long have you been learning?" Lucy asked as the ice mage knew that it wasn't uncommon for a mage to learn more than one type of magic, but potency tends to drop with more magic at a person's disposal. Although Gray didn't feel like any of his magic types grew weaker, truth be told everything felt just fine.

"A few months after the funeral; nothing as amazing as changing my form into liquid, but I've gotten the hang of a few more notable spells she had." It was an interesting feeling Gray had once he realized that he now shared the magic types of all the people he was close to and lost. His father's ice devil slayer magic, Ur's ice make magic he shared with Ultear as well and now a bit of Juvia's water magic. "At least Gajeel isn't as infuriated with me whenever I use it compared to a few years ago."

"Natsu had to keep him occupied for months and fight him so he wouldn't kill you, Erza couldn't step in since he'd eat her armor." It was a nasty time when word came out that Juvia didn't make it and the last time she was seen was with Gray. The ice mage remembered the look on Natsu's face after he said that and the iron dragon slayer tackled him to the ground. "He almost did you in after Natsu told him that you were with her last; it took Laxus, Elfman and Natsu to get him off you."

"The metal head needed some hits on me, I was powerless to save her and he knew her the longest." Gray always made fun of Gajeel for his crocodile tears he'd shed when he got motion sick, but as he was being clobbered by a grief-stricken slayer, he saw a crack in that iron hide of his. "She was the closest thing to a family that he ever had for the longest time and I failed to protect her when she needed it most, when he trusted me to watch over her."

"You two had to face Zeref's closest advisor on your own, there wasn't much either of you could have done when trapped in something like that."

"Yeah well, let's just end it here and move on to what you wanted to tell me." Gray could talk about the subject with Lucy very easily, but he didn't feel like feeding the mark any further than what it already is. "I could tell you've learned something that you wanted to tell me before you got distracted by the water."

"Right, Levy and I have actually found out the language the enemy speaks." Gray raised an eyebrow at that since he didn't expect either of them to be ones to decipher the language barrier between them and their enemy. "It turns out that they speak a dead language that was situated in the area about three hundred years ago."

"Looks like that language isn't as dead as you thought then." Gray commented, but he could tell that Lucy was only scratching the surface of what she had to say.

"More than that; it isn't an adapted form of the language, it is the language itself. The writing, speech pattern and mannerism are a complete match. One prisoner was shocked to discover that we could read what he was writing."

"Alright we can now read what they write, so how can we use it ourselves?"

"Well, we've translated most of their vocabulary already and decided to have people use gale force reading glasses to understand all of it as quickly as possible so the interrogations are easier, but the process is slow since we only made a single translation." He had to admit that Fairy Tail's ace bookworms work pretty fast once their interests are piqued. "Master says that Porlyusica may be able to make something that could help us out as well, but she's still helping Wendy heal the last of the wounded at the moment."

"Well at least there's one fire dealt with, communication's vital in knowing what our enemy is doing." Gray said as knowing what our enemy knows goes a long way, even though it's debatable if the enemy has anything that could prove to be a challenge to them.

"Speaking of fires, I've been meaning to talk to you about what happened between you and Natsu."

"I was expecting that, took longer for you to actually speak up if I had to be honest." The most awaited chat Gray had to date in recent years, but what Lucy wanted to know was anyone's guess.

"I know the two of you butt heads often, have different views on conflict, but what happened between the two of you was pretty bad. I spoke with Natsu a while ago and... he told me what was bothering him, why he was acting like he was." Gray could make as many assumptions as he could about how bad it was that Natsu saw, but it was best that he kept it to himself at the moment. "He's hard set on getting justice by any means necessary, but aside from the enemy, he seems at odds with you too. Why?"

"It could mean a lot of things Lucy, that pink haired moron is as hard headed as they come. I'm probably just an obstacle he's trying to bulldoze to reach his goal." It was Natsu in a nutshell when it came to fighting for the greater good, but Lucy had a point that the pink haired slayer was trying much harder than before.

"You're almost right Stripper, you are an obstacle but it's because of a very specific reason." Gray and Lucy turned to see Gajeel come up to them, little Gale fast asleep in his arms and the ice mage evaporated the water he was messing around with. "It's because he's marked the cheerleader as his territory."

"He what!?" Lucy squawked, but immediately zipped her mouth shut as Gale began to stir though the blonde still stared at Gajeel with astonished eyes.

"Gihi, relax Lucy it's some territorial thing dragons subconsciously do most of the time and become ferociously protective of when endangered." Gajeel added as he gently rocked Gale so she'd go back to sleep. "Don't worry, you're not that special."

"But you said he m-marked me as his territory..."

"Yeah and? He did it subconsciously, he basically did so for almost all of Fiore and its citizens. A large net he casted to protect and it's the reason he's aggressive with the notion of seeking revenge for what happened to everyone under his watch." The iron dragon slayer turned to look at Gray and the ice mage knew he had some part to do with his behavior. "Because you were so against him killing those that attacked his territory, he has dubbed you an enemy that wishes to encroach on his territory."

"That's stupid."

"It's the truth Stripper, now he'll be up in arms against you because of your actions. It'll be up to him to decide if you can be seen as an ally again." Gray couldn't believe that typical dragon behavior has turned Natsu against him, the moron was causing problems for him on a subconscious level too.

"Is there a way to turn him back, or like bring him out of this way of thinking?" At least Lucy was thinking forward about this, Gray would've let the pink haired idiot sort himself out on his own.

"Afraid not, it won't subside until he feels like the threat to his territory has been eliminated or he comes around. Either way, he's volatile so watch what you say."

"Aren't you the same then? Are you a subconscious territorial marker like Natsu or do you know what territory you've marked?" Gray really did wonder if Gajeel is aware since he's the most knowledgeable about dragon slayer behavior than any other slayer the ice mage has met.

"Of course I know; it's my family and the guild. I know that if these bastards ever touch Gale or Levy, I'll rip their arms off and beat them to death with them." It was very noticeable that Gray and Lucy had the similar thought of a very protective dragon father. "Though you still aren't on my good side."

"I wouldn't have expected anything different." Gray was well aware that the long haired man wasn't a big fan of his, three years and only tolerance is the progress that has been made. It was something at least.

"I acknowledge your abilities and respect what you've done, but don't expect me to really consider you a friend." It wasn't so hard for Gray to know that as much as they made progress, Gajeel would always resent him for what he did. More like what he failed to do.

"Don't I feel special." Sometimes a sarcastic remark is enough to say that you're done talking, luckily the metal head picked up on it.

"Before I go, pull your head out of your ass."

"Come again?"

"Live with the fact that this is going to be war, so get used to taking a life. I try not to take sides between you and Salamander, but you're riding some damn self-righteous cloud and think that you're better than most for not killing an enemy." Was this a warning? Gray was not sure if that was the case as this could very well be advice as well, but he'll let him go on. "War's messy and there aren't any winners on any side. So what they did here, know that we'll probably do something just as bad on the other side."

"We're human, we've got the ability to choose in life and I chose not to add more to the chaos. There are more battles going on than you realize, but what do I know?" Gray replied as Gajeel clicked his tongue and walked off, much to the relief of Lucy who could feel the tension between the two.

"Does anyone really know why you seem so disconnected when something as bad as this happens and you're around it?" Lucy knew that asking questions always made the ice mage talk, either to answer them or to stop her from asking more. "Your silence tells me that they don't and I doubt you'll tell me anytime soon."

"So, you have been learning." The ice mage joked and the blonde rolled her eyes in turn, but she wasn't budging this time and simply stood there waiting. "A war is fought on more than one front, casualties will come from more than a single source and I know what it's like being a survivor from one of those fronts."

"But we keep moving forward, right? Take control of ourselves and do our best to see the next morning." In an ironic way, Lucy had actually figured out what really was bothering him. Control.

If he didn't keep it, he would be afraid to see the next morning. To see the face that would be staring at him in the mirror because that all-consuming power he yearned for to save Juvia's life, to stop the bleeding and seal the wound, was only useful for destruction. It changed him to taste what real power was like, but he couldn't come to think of it as good if it excelled at destroying more than creating. It left a small pit in him when he thought back to the destruction of Invel's superiority complex when he defeated him, the lives he took while searching for Natsu and Erza's arm as she tried to stop him from killing the pink haired dragon slayer.

"She's got the right idea Gray, you've got to learn to do that so you won't be so afraid of me." The fact that his mark would communicate telepathically to him from time to time irked the ice mage to no end as this is the first time in months that it's been so active, starting back on the day he arrived for the counter attack.

"Some need to do so more than others." The ice mage was aware that his mark made a point about it, but he didn't fear it taking control of him. He feared it for a whole different reason.

"At least you admit to it, in a passive way, but you still admit it." It said as Gray adjusted himself against the railing, hoping it would shut up soon. "You should be grateful that you've earned my respect, else that hope of yours won't come true as often as it does."

"I'm going to be straight with you Gray, you've got to get past this feud of ideologies with Natsu. You both are too stubborn to let the other win or even call it quits, just be the bigger man and let him follow his own path." The raven head had to admit that Lucy was getting better at becoming much more aggressive these days, though it'll be a while before she becomes as scary as Erza. "It's not good for either of you and I can tell that Natsu regrets some of what he said."

"He needs something to focus his attention on, if he keeps his mind solely on this without someone antagonizing his actions then he'll start to think it's acceptable so long as the situation calls for it." He lied to her, he was doing this for himself most of all but it helped the hot head in a way too. "I'm not letting him become a killer."

"But Gajeel has a point too Gray, no one's perfect and even you will make a mistake. It's not a matter of if rather than a matter of when." That when she spoke about had come a long time ago, but the ice mage wouldn't turn a deaf ear to Lucy's claim.

"Then let me ask you this Lucy; are you prepared to kill someone?"

"...No, I'm not." An honest answer, but Gray knew that the celestial mage had a powerful aversion to death. Loke disappearing was a prime example of that. "No one can ever really be prepared to take someone's life, but I do know that I'll do everything in my power to get back to Fairy Tail, whatever the cost."

"Huh..." That was all the ice mage had to say as she blew past his expectations, though her words resonated akin to something Juvia would say.

As for Lucy, the blonde believed that she got out as much conversation as she could from the ice mage given to his laid back attitude although an air of melancholy floated around him. As much as Gray didn't show how much Juvia's death had affected him, the celestial mage could tell that he wasn't all the same after it. Like he said to her long about the scars that you can't see, they're the ones that sting the most. Without another word, she had decided to leave him alone for the time being and went back inside to find out how Erza faired with her pink haired best friend. Mavis knows if the requip mage had any luck getting through to him, all Lucy knew was that she tried her best and even she still wondered if the dragon slayer really listened to her.

 _"Things are only going to get harder before they get any simpler."_


	6. Aftermath Pt II

Aftermath Pt. II

"Alright that's it!" Natsu cried, reaching his limit as hours have passed since he showed up at the castle, and stomped his way towards the meeting room the queen was in. "I've had enough of all this talking, I'm speeding things up!"

His complaint didn't go unawares as the rest of his team quickly got to their feet, not to mention some of his other guild mates that were also called to the castle and made their way to stop him. No doubt the slayer was going to cause problems when there was already a big enough one to deal with at the moment but were too late as he kicked the large doors wide open. All individuals within the room fell silent instantly and turned their heads to look at the angry pink haired young man.

"Excuse me your royal-ness, but this meeting's gone on long enough!" Natsu crossed his arms as the initial excitement died down and he got the attention he was hoping to get. "We've waited long enough and it's time to kick some a-"

Natsu wasn't able to continue as a huge hand caught him in a vice grip to shut him up, and all eyes followed it towards its owner. Makarov was wheeled in by Laxus as he kept bowing apologetically to the queen, he knew the slayer would do something stupid although he wished that he made a commotion outside instead. He released Natsu once Erza had made her way towards the dragon slayer and kept a "calming" hand on his shoulder as the rest of Fairy Tail crowded near the door.

"I'm very sorry for Natsu's behavior, Queen Hisui. He's become restless since the days following the attack, I'm afraid it's gotten the best of him." Makarov apologized, but allowed relief to slowly sink in as Hisui smiled amusedly.

"It's quite alright Master Makarov, I felt it was time to conclude this meeting." Hisui said as she looked up towards the group of people hovering at the entrance. "It's alright everyone, you can come inside now."

At her claim the remaining Fairy Tailers began to pour into the room, which was thankfully large enough to house them all in. Before them they could see the queen's entitled seat at the center of a half circle table which had the other representatives seated at her sides, but that remained solely as the center of the room as benches lined the walls around it. As quickly as they could, they took their seats at one side, although Natsu had yet moved along with Erza, Laxus and Makarov.

"Understanding that Mr. Dragneel is quite vocal about his complaints as he is stubborn, I'll refrain from asking the four of you to take your seats." Clara Greybourne voiced out as she had noticed a number of politicians glaring at the standing mages before them, it was an attempt to keep civility inside the meeting room.

"But please keep in mind to speak when asked, if that is not too much to ask for." Hisui added as to avoid full blown arguments between her people and Fairy Tail.

"As you wish your Highness." Erza answered and Makarov was glad that she was always on top of these things, plus she was right for the job in keeping Natsu in check.

"Thank you and as I've said, I'm concluding this meeting as I've come to a decision." Hisui began and immediately an uproar of voices rang out with complaints that there was still so much to discuss before the meeting could truly be over. "That's quite enough everyone."

Hisui raised her hand and the volume in the room immediately dropped, much to the impressment of a few Fairy Tailers as they've come to see how far the Queen has meshed into her position of power. Makarov braved a glance at Natsu in hopes that he was being well restrained, although the aging guild master hadn't expected the slayer to be in awe at how the Queen silenced the room with a simple raised hand. A part of the old man had a feeling that Natsu hadn't grown accustomed to Hisui being the crowned queen of Fiore, rather he still saw her as the risk-taking princess he met her as a few years ago.

"Now then, both sides have made great points in attempts to keep Fiore out of an over reaching war on one side and to showcase our country's might on the other. We can sit here for hours, possibly days without reaching an agreement and I am glad that Natsu had barged in here at such an opportune moment." All eyes went straight for the pink haired slayer and though he wasn't one to shy away from others' gaze, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being judged for more than walking in unannounced.

"As much as I have my reserves with this idea, Fiore will be heading out beyond the Gate." A collective of murmurs began within the room, but a subtle smile crept on Natsu's face to see the queen taking action. "Ms. Myu, please inform your superiors that we gladly accept the aid your country will be sending us. I wish to have us ready to mobilize in a week's time, we've spent too much time without taking action."

"My Queen, retaliating seems like a course of action built solely out of revenge and I fear that we won't gain anything from amassing an attack like this." Samuel truly wanted to avoid this outcome, what could Fiore possibly gain in the long run by attacking another nation. "Are you positive that we should really undergo military action?"

"Of course, we should! These bastards took innocent people in cages across that damn thing to become slaves for them!" Natsu cried out and once again all voices grew silent at the dragon slayer's claim, no one said a thing until Saul spoke up amongst the elongated silence.

"What did you say young man?" Saul read the reports himself thoroughly and not once had he seen any indication that people were taken captives. "My Queen, is what the mage said true? Have innocent civilians been taken hostage? Or worse still, have they been taken as slaves?" A hanging silence befell the room before the Hisui bowed her head solemly.

"I'm afraid so, this information has been kept confidential until my Left Hand can correctly confirm it, even if there are multiple witnesses that can attest to it." Hisui replied and a number of people began clamoring about how they should've mobilized much sooner if this was the case or how they couldn't believe such thing was kept from them.

"I would like to give you all my sincerest apologies for not informing you about this sooner, I wished to see the differing opinions that you all had at the idea of mobilizing a military force to the Gate. This was for me to see the long-term effects once we have deployed and the problems we would be facing when that time would come around." Many within the room had to give the Queen credit for taking steps to foresee the future, but there were those who felt that she should have disclosed this sensitive information to them much early on no matter the case.

"Sorry to interrupt your Highness, but I have news that the Left Hand have arrived and are awaiting your permission to enter." A knight said once he entered the room and the Queen made a gesture that indicated that they could enter.

The knight nodded before leaving the room and opened the door once again a few moments later, but this time he held it open for eight hooded figures to enter the room. They flooded into the center where the Fairy Tailers were standing and each bowed their heads respectively towards the Queen.

"I hope you came bearing news about the abduction reports?" Hisui asked the hooded individual at the forefront of the group nodded in acknowledgement. "Then you may all lower your hoods and report your findings."

As they lowered their hoods, Erza was the first to notice the blue mop of hair at the forefront of the group and had immediately recognized who the group was. She was the first, but the rest of the Fairy Tail mages quickly caught on as well once they had finally seen the group's faces. As for the requip mage, she had to keep her surprise under wraps given to the fact that she had to uphold an image in front of the Queen. Though she did let her mind wonder back when Jellal had told her he had a job to do and would be out of contact for some time, this recent reconnaissance mission for the queen being the job he mentioned.

"We tracked them as far we could and had been successful in recovering one of the straggling carts with captives in it. No enemy survivors, but the innocent civilians were unharmed during the rescue." Jellal replied and the Queen gave a quite sigh at the news. "I'm afraid that any knowledge pertaining to what exactly was going to be done with them wasn't given up easily and we decided to return with the gathered intelligence."

"Thank you for the report, that will be all." Hisui said and Jellal, along with the rest of Crime Sorciere, gave one more bow and retreated out of the room. "It is as I feared, what we are doing now is not a declaration of war, but a rescue operation."

"I can say with confidence that all representatives gathered here are in agreement to mobilize a rescue attempt my Queen; however, is a week's time truly enough to ready our troops to cross the Gate?" Saul knew that they'd cross sooner or later, but he believed they would have more time to regain their strength before they sent a force over.

"We have no other option as the famed Natsu Dragneel himself has claimed that we have wasted too much time with our talks. I am at fault for that and because of that I humbly ask you, Master Makarov, for your assistance in allowing some of your guild's members to join our forces as advanced personnel." Hisui turned her gaze from regarding Saul over towards Makarov, who was internally conflicted with the Queen's question.

"Time is of the essence for our people to be rescued, but I can't whole heartedly commit to sending anymore of my members to fight such battles." Makarov replied as the last thing he wanted was for his children to become mercenaries, with the likelihood of doing everything asked of one with none of the benefits. "They've all been through so much and I wish for them to be at peace rather than going off to fight in this conflict."

"Master Makarov, we know that your guild has been through a lot throughout the years, but the lives of dozens of people are depending on us. Are you certain that you want to remain inactive during the country's crisis." Saul was trying to goad the aging master's pride into action so that he'd agree to the Queen's request, but the sour look he was receiving from the old man wasn't what he expected.

"Pardon Mr. Representative, but my brats have already put themselves in danger in Crocus' defense. I can't ask them to travel to who knows where the Gate leads and what unknown dangers that lurk there." Makarov wouldn't make that call as this was a decision his children had to make for themselves. "It is not my place to send them off and risk their lives in an unknown place, even if they've done so for many years here."

"As noble as your wishes to protect your members are, I believe it's in everyone's best interest that Fairy Tail supports us in our time of need." Saul countered as the number one guild should willingly deploy into action once the Queen has asked them to.

"They are more selfish than noble wishes, so I don't be-"

"I'll volunteer!"

All eyes within the room once again turned to look at Natsu who stood standing straight with determination burning in his eyes. Makarov was very familiar with that look and had been afraid of it rearing its head at a time like this, but if he knew the young man than there was hardly a chance for him to stop the dragon slayer.

"Natsu!"

"No, I won't keep quiet Erza!" He replied defiantly towards the requip mage before turning his gaze back to the Queen, no sense of fear within him after regarding Erza in such a way. "Your Highness, I want to volunteer myself into the army or whatever. I'll make sure that our people come home."

"I admire your bravery Natsu Dragneel and so I welcome you into the Fiorean Army openly, of course as a well-regarded mage volunteer." Hisui said with a kind smile and amongst those sitting at sides of the room, Lucy tried her best not to follow in Gray's actions of face palming to her best friend's declaration. "Furthermore, I ask those within the room if they too are willing to volunteer in our rescue operation."

Hisui waited to see who else would reply to the call of duty and slowly grew a bit worried as no one else seemed to follow up, until a metal gauntlet rose up before her. She gave a kind smile as Erza raised her hand and stepped forward alongside Natsu, much to the noticeable surprise of her guild master.

"I, Erza Scarlet, pledge my blade in service to the Queen's request." As formal as ever, but it was how the requip mage was around those who needed to be regarded with respect.

"If those two are going over then I guess I'll go too." Came the voice of Laxus as Makarov twisted his head to look at him with surprising speed that one would think he should've experienced whiplash.

"You too, Laxus?!"

"Sorry Gramps, but Erza's going to need all the help she can get keeping the fire breathing goofball under control. Besides it's partially my fault that these punks got away with so many people in the first place." Laxus wasn't one to show regret so easily, but even Makarov could see the lingering signs of anger that were subtly hidden on his features when he thought about his grave mistake.

Soon enough, the majority of Fairy Tail members within the room stood up from their seats; save for a few exceptions. Them being Gajeel, Gray and Carla who each had their own reasons for not wanting to follow along with the idea of joining the Fiorean military, even if temporarily.

"I guess my brats have spoken, but I wish to ask your Highness to allow me to choose which ones of them will go." Makarov understood how much heart they all had for under taking such a task, but he couldn't out rightly send so many of them away.

"I say you should just send the people who came for the counter attack." Laxus suggested and the old master was rather curious as to why he should do that. "It minimizes the amount of people being sent off and I'm positive that five slayers, Erza and the cheerleader are enough to equal several battalions."

Laxus had made a good point as the tides had greatly changed once the limited Fairy Tail mages had arrived and the enemy was driven back quite easily. Though Makarov was still weary of sending them out, he couldn't deny his brats of what their hearts were telling them. The old man sighed to himself and finally decided on taking up Laxus' idea, hoping that Mavis would be watching over his brats.

"I will be sending a concentrated roster of my brats that will be assisting the military, but I hope your Highness isn't solely relying on just our guild in this effort." Makarov couldn't help but ask as he didn't want to be the only magical guild out there and leave his children to fend for themselves alongside soldiers.

"Of course not Master Makarov, I will be asking the other legal guilds for their assistance as well. You need not be worried for your members' safety as they will have allied support during their time on the other side." Hisui answered and it brought a bit of relief to the old man, but it wouldn't erase most of his worries as the tale of his brats going to Edolas crept into his mind.

"Thank you, your Highness."

"You're welcome, and with that it is time for us to begin mobilization efforts. We are working against an ever-closing window of bringing back all of our people home safely." Hisui said as everyone bowed to her and quickly filed out of the room to get things underway before the week was up.

* * *

As everyone began to file out of the room, Erza scanned the hallway in search of one particular individual that she really wanted to speak with. With the occasional bump with a stranger, a hand had gripped her gauntlet and pulled her out of the large group of people. The red head smiled kindly as she looked up at the tattooed man before her, glad he had pulled out of the swath of people hurriedly rushing away with preparations. As for Jellal, she had noticed the way he had signaled to the rest of his guild to continue without him and slightly scowled at the shit eating grin Eric was giving him once the dragon slayer had noticed him with Erza.

"So, the Queen's Left Hand. Quite the step up from being an independent guild working in the shadows." Erza began to regain the blue haired man's focus on her and her merely chuckled at her questioning tone. "How come you never told me that you guys were now in service of the Queen?"

"Well, I didn't find a good enough time to tell you. In fact, I've been trying for the last couple of years." A part of him couldn't shake the embarrassing feeling that he had gotten tongue tied in the red head's presence so often that there hardly was a time he could say anything clearly.

And Erza enjoyed the fact that he was so easily flustered with her around.

"Given our line of work, there hardly is any time to for us to speak with each other for so long." She enjoyed their talks, it was something she missed having with the blue haired man before the tower incident when they were kids. "You should try to say the more important things as soon as you can, else you'll hold it in for years."

"I'll keep that in mind, but what I wish to know is if you are serious about going into the Special Region with the rest of your guild mates and the military." The requip mage could see the uncertainty within his brown eyes, but she had faith in Natsu's words when he said that nothing on the other side could harm them. Even if a little because one could never be too sure and it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I am, I need to keep Natsu in check to the best of my abilities. Or else the military is going to have their hands full with a rampaging dragon." Natsu's words held no room for a rebuttal and Erza knew he was serious, meaning that she had couldn't take the dragon slayer's behavior lightly. "By the way, did you guys call it the "Special Region" on your own?"

"It's a work in progress, but we derived it by the way the world on the other side feels." Jellal replied as he could still feel the lingering difference between there and Fiore. "It's a completely different experience that some of my guild are still trying to get used being back home."

"You just said 'the world on the other side' just now, are you saying that this is not a mass transportation structure?" Erza had believed that someone with great amounts of magic power, or access to it anyways, had opened a transportation gate from some region undiscovered on Earth Land.

"It definitely isn't, for starters the stars do not align in any pattern I'm familiar with. They are basically different constellations entirely, then there's the ethernano." Erza could believe the difference as Jellal focused to the constellations in the night sky as his meteor magic revolves around a set of them.

"What's wrong with the ethernano?" She wondered what drew such attention from Jellal to name that as a main difference between Earth Land and the Special Region; was it sparsely there like in Edolas or much more abundant?

"The levels are quite adequate, no need to worry about wasting all of it trying to use spells. It's just that the only word that comes to mind is that it feels very archaic, if it helps any to describe how it felt to us." Now that was an interesting way to depict magic as only Lost Magic was ever considered archaic by today's standards. "In a way, the ethernano here had centuries to refine itself, but over there it feels as if any normal spell feels so much more potent than what you'd expect.

"Are you saying that your magic was much more powerful in comparison to usage here in Earth Land?" Erza couldn't believe that as she thought the reverse would happen and any magic they casted would be weaker overall.

"While we made are way back to the Gate, we experimented to gain a grasp of what we were capable of and the effects were shocking." The requip mage could tell that Jellal was thinking back to that point and time and could only wonder what the results were discovered. "I'll use tiers to describe the changes; say Natsu casts a fireball at its weakest at tier one here in Earth Land, in the Special Region it becomes a tier three, give or take a half tier."

"That much of a difference?" She didn't believe the changes would be that large, she thought more along the line of half a tier maybe even one. "I guess that explains why no survivors were taken when it came to the enemy."

"We tried to use our least inconspicuous spells as we attacked, but because of that we couldn't correctly gauge the difference before it was too late." It was a mishap, but what could be blame in this case? An error in judgement or the natural order being different from the norm?

"Well the good thing is that you guys saved the captives and soon enough, I'll be doing the same thing on an even larger scale." Erza smiled confidently even if she still worried over the fact that she basically enlisted in the armed forces voluntarily.

"I don't doubt that for a second Erza, maybe we can speak again when you get more free time in the future. I should let you get back to preparing for your journey across the Gate." With a respectful nod of his head, Jellal excused himself and walked in the direction his guild mates had gone off too.

"Looks like I'll have to keep Natsu on a tighter leash this time." Erza thought to herself and before long she noticed the dragon slayer she was just thinking about running down the hall towards her. "Speak of the Devil..."

* * *

"Mind telling me why you didn't stand up when everyone else found their confidence to go on the rescue op?" Gajeel questioned once he located Gray out on one of the castle's many balconies, though he did wonder what was up with him and balconies as of late.

"Funny, I could ask you the same thing. I haven't met a dragon slayer who shied away from a fight." Gray retorted but was answered with the click of the dragon slayer's tongue as he took a spot near the railing. "Besides, wouldn't you want to up show the pink haired moron in proving which one of you can find the captives first?"

"You're being more of an ass than usual, what's got your boxers in a bunch?" Gajeel knew that he and the ice mage didn't have the clearest relationship, but they haven't bit back at each other like this in a while.

"Nothing that you'd care to know about, but I'm sure you won't tell me anything unless I reply first, right?" Gray didn't need any form of confirmation to know that he was right, but what could he tell him that'll make the most sense to the metal head? "Let's just say that I'll be more useful out of everyone's way rather than getting so involved."

"That only makes sense to you than me, but you'll probably shut up even more if I press you to be clearer." At least they knew each other's boundaries, but who wouldn't when speaking to the person you can hardly stand to look at. "As for me, I can't leave Levy and Gale behind to go off and become a killing machine again."

"Too bad we'll get the short end of the straw."

"You heard blondie too, huh? We'll be sent either way and as much as I want to refuse, I can't help this feeling of wanting to return the "kindness" we were given tenfold."

"I guess you dragon slayers love a good fight or something, else you wouldn't really want to think like that." Gray off handedly commented and was replied with a snort from the iron dragon slayer in turn. "But even I can't help but know how it feels to be like that."

"As hypocritical as you are, why is it that you so defiantly avoid sharing Salamander's view?" Gajeel had notice the way the ice mage would contradict himself in saying he didn't want to be a part of this, but he would show some signs of wanting his own sense of justice to be paid. "Is it that you don't want to be similar to him in thinking or what?"

"It's a lot more complicated than that, our basic nature makes us behave differently to the situation. I have control while Natsu focuses mainly on his emotions."

"Hmph... control, yeah right." Gray would have rolled his eyes if Gajeel walked away after saying that, but the dragon slayer just stood there waiting for him to react. "You can talk it up all you want and it won't convince me that you really know what control is."

"Look Gajeel, we've been through this for three years straight and had plenty of encounters with passive aggressiveness to boot. Just be up front and tell me how you really feel, it'll be better for us to really know where we stand." This was a long time coming, three years was slow progress but it needed to be sped up for the sake that this war has messed everything up.

"So, you finally grew some balls to ask me what's wrong, huh?" It was almost in a mocking tone, but Gray couldn't be bothered by how the dragon slayer responded to him at this point. "I'll be crystal clear; I hate you."

"Why am I not surprised?" It wouldn't be the first time someone hated Gray; Ultear and even Meredy at one point hated his guts.

"You'd expect that wouldn't you, but I hate you for other reasons." Gray could only guess what those reasons were, but it seemed Gajeel would enlighten him soon enough. "I hate you for failing Juvia, that's a major one, but I hate for even existing."

 _"Meredy and Ultear felt the same way..."_

"Juvia meant a lot to me, she was the closest thing to me in that shit hole of a guild that was Phantom Lord. I'll be honest with you so you really know how deep my hatred for you goes, she was the woman I fell in love with before I got to know Levy."

Now that was something Gray didn't expect, he knew the two of them were close although he didn't expect them to be that close.

"My life was a living hell, but I found company in someone who was suffering just like me. She may have come off so cold and distant, but if you got to know her then you'd see a blue rose caught in a rainstorm. With a little more time, I would've tried...I would've tried..." The long-haired man let the sentence die in his lips before shaking his head and continuing on.

"Then you came into the picture and all she could ever talk about was you, you a random ice mage we had considered our enemy. Somehow you did the one thing in your first encounter with her that I've been trying to accomplish for years. You freed her from her eternal rain storm and she fell in love with you for it. I didn't want to accept it, but soon enough I started to realize that maybe this was for the best for her. How stupid I was to think like that."

Something sank in the pit of Gray's stomach and he wondered if Gajeel ever really considered him as a friend like he had with Natsu and the others. The rational part of him thought that he did to some extent, but the other part of him said that the slayer hid his true feelings really well for so long.

"You didn't appreciate the effort she put into trying to please you, you didn't bother giving her your attention when she asked for it, you didn't acknowledge the fact that she was going above and beyond to gain your approval. At first, I thought you were being a dick, but then you were nothing more than an asshole to her. I wanted to tell her that she was wasting her time, but I had never seen her so happy and couldn't bring myself to take away that smile I tried my damnedest to see."

"It was the first time she was truly in love and she had no real idea of how to act, so some of that weird behavior you tended to see her do was for the fact that she had no real idea what to do. Apparently, it made you just distance yourself from her even more, God how much I wanted to punch you in your pretty boy face every time you backed away from her."

The ice mage stood there taking it, but he had to wonder how long Gajeel had been wanting to tell him this face-to-face. It would seem like years, or rather from the very start as he inadvertently took away the woman he truly cared about.

"Only near the end did you start appreciating her and what then? She gave up her life for the person she loved and I'm left with a regret that I can't erase. You can tell me that you loved her, but I'll never see it since it never was there for so long. Lucy actually showed that she loved her much more clearly than you could ever do and Juvia feared that she'd take you away from her. I wish she did, so that she didn't have to waste her life trying to please you. There was even a point that I thought that if you could make her happy for the rest of her life, then that would be enough for me and now here I stand knowing that'll I'll never see her smile again. One filled with such love and warmth that I thought couldn't be possible when we were in Phantom Lord."

"I hate you Gray, Juvia could have done so much better and yet she chose you of all people. I thought I would be a hypocrite if I said I never once liked you, but now I know I was right."

 _"I guess I never truly appreciate what I have until it's taken away from me, just a repeating pattern that has yet to stop."_

"All in all you're basically right, we've been tip toeing around each other for too long and I think you should know why it's been so hard for you to regain any standing with me. As much as I hate you, you are still my guild mate and Levy trusts you with her life. I wish she didn't, but she has faith in you and she's the reason why I even bother trying to tolerate you. When the time comes, I'll put aside my personal feelings to help you but that doesn't mean they'll go away. I hope you're satisfied knowing what I think of you now."

Gajeel left without another word and Gray stood there speechless, a new pang started up in his heart and knew that he fucked up much more than he had ever realized. He destroyed Lyon's dream, he took Ultear's mother away, made Meredy's pseudo-mother suffer and yet he managed to fix those to the best of his abilities. This though, this was something he doubted he could ever fix. It ran very deep into the core of the iron dragon slayer and it was the second time Gray ever saw the crack in his iron hide.

 **"You've made plenty of friends, but the people who hate you make such an impact."** His mark remarked, but he rather it talked to him than be left to his own thoughts.

"Wasn't it the same case for you, Zero?" Gray gave it a name a while ago, but at the moment the name made so much more sense for other things other than being the title of his mark.

 **"The Etherious hated me for existing because I was the contingency plan once Zeref was finally killed. That iron dragon slayer on the other hand, he hates you for a personal reason the likes of which only humans seem understand than I do."** If there was something Zero didn't fully understand was how humans would think with their emotions rather than cold hard fact. **"That woman helped unlocked the fledgling bounty of potential power you had in store and with more time you could have used me to the furthest extent possible like your father did, so I see no problem with her sacrifice."**

"Her name was Juvia and my father discovered what you had to offer because he gave up trying to be the man he once was before our final battle."

 **"True enough, but it seems this has hit you harder than I had expected. Are your sins finally crashing down upon you? I'm positive your deadly sin is wrath over anything else, a compatible one with a being of my power."** Zero received no reply as Gray lost himself in thought and judging by the growing negative energy it was accumulating, it knew that the recent conversation was truly weighing on the ice mage. **"Come now Gray, you'll lose control at this rate. Not to mention that your dragon slayer friend is approaching."**

"Hey Gray have you seen Happy!?" Natsu quickly made his way towards the ice mage who shook free from his thoughts before he answered the jittery fire dragon slayer.

"I haven't, didn't you say that he was helping out people during the battle?"

"He was, but all this stupid talking and no action made me so angry and distracted that I don't know where he is. I thought Carla or Wendy might have seen him, but they told me that they haven't seen him either."

"Look, I just want the day to end already, so relax hot head I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later." As he replied, Gray walked past him as he had enough fresh air for the day.

"Well I'm not gonna wait for later, I'm going to find him right now!" Natsu ran off to someplace within the castle, leaving the ice mage alone.

 _"Although I do wonder where Happy ran off to anyways?"_

* * *

Somewhere near a forested area on the outskirts of Coda Village was a lone cottage that is home to a well-known grand master wizard named Cato El Altestan, whom was reviewing a few of his old spell tomes in order to brush upon a few new lessons to his aspiring student. As he thought about her, he came to the realization that she had yet to return from her trip to Coda Village for supplies until the sound of the front door was heard opening. Placing a few spell tomes onto his desk, Cato went off to greet his young pupil although he hadn't expected her to return with more than just the supplies.

"Lelei, what is that within your hands?" Cato asked the sixteen-year-old girl as she placed down the supplies with her magic before regarding her master.

"On my way back, I found it lying on the side of the road by a bush. I believe it to be a rare species of domesticated cat, Master." Lelei responded as she held up the aforementioned cat for him to see. "A naturally blue furred feline such as this is a rare find, I should discover what gives it's fur this hue."

"Ever curious to unlock the mysteries of the world as ever Lelei, but I believe it would be best to keep such a specimen in one piece since you can never be too sure if it is the last of its species." Cato knew the girl had a brilliant mind, although discovery of the unknown does come with a price if one is not careful, he of all people was very aware of that.

"Very well Master, shall we keep it for observation?" Lelei had truly wondered what natural forces causes blue fur; was it the water, nature or the cat's diet that brought about this vibrant color.

"It should be fine but do make sure it doesn't cause a mess. The last thing I want is for my staff to be thrown to the ground." He could allow Lelei to keep it, whether she'll treat it as an experiment or a pet was up to the young teen. "Oh, it seems our little friend here is waking up."

Lelei turned the feline to look at her and as its eyes opened even wider and it looked directly at her, she and her master had been caught by complete surprise. Reason being was because the blue feline recoiled and instead of meowing, it yelled in fright at the unknown girl before it.


	7. Aftermath Pt III

Aftermath Pt. III

It became an extremely busy week once the announcement that Fiore will be conducting a rescue operation in the Special Region had been made public. As predicted, there were those who had unease in their hearts at the idea of sending lives to a different world although it was quickly shadowed by the prospect of bringing some good news after all the death that had happened. The knowledge about the Special Region being a separate world was passed along by rumors, but speculation turned to inference as those of higher positions slowly gave bits of information on anything they knew concerning the Gate. Though it didn't sway the public in any way once people began working together to prepare for the assault on the Gate.

When news came out that Fairy Tail's top mages had volunteered to join the Fiorean Army, experienced mages soon began to pour in their support as well. Independent mages, recognized guild mages and citizens with combat experienced also volunteered into Fiore's forces for this endeavor. It wasn't long before a name for this force popped up, the Fiorean Expeditionary Forces, but the person who coined the name was never really discovered. Although it stuck like glue with everyone.

Though good in bolstering the numbers of the Expeditionary Forces, the problem lied in the fact that the influx of people meant that training had to be done to make the citizens into competent soldiers. As for the mages, a number of officials had come to the idea of using the Magic Power Finder to assign temporary rankings to them as Arcadios had done with Yukino Aguria.

A few generals had announced their complaints about doing such a thing as it would throw off the chain of command because of the temporary rankings, but Jura had stepped in as a representative for the Wizard Saint run Magic Council with the suggestion of using the Rune Knight rankings in order to avoid any confusion. The bald councilman had also included the fact that they would still be under command of the Firoean military and not the Rune Knights, his suggestion merely being a means to an end when it came to rankings. As opposed as some of the generals were, they had reluctantly agreed to it and immediately started the rankings.

Many of the mages had managed to earn a ranking of Regular by the Rune Knight Ranking Standard, but there were those who were much talented and managed to receive a position as high as Field Commander. Of course, the majority of people knew that Erza and the dragon slayers were going to be excluded from the ranking system, their combat prowess very much understood so it was of no surprise when none of them had been seen during the rankings although some Fairy Tail mages were still among them. Lucy being one of the more recognized Fairy Tail mages that received a position of Division Commander with a few points shy of falling into colonel. She was grateful for the Leo Star Dress and her famous Lucy Kick for getting her that high.

As for the majority that weren't seen, the Fairy Tail mages were working around the clock to prepare for what's to come at the end of week. Gray had went back to Magnolia for a personal reason he hadn't explained before he left, Natsu was being instructed by Arcadios on how to follow his commanding officer once the dragon slayer was finally assigned and Erza had decided to read up on combat formations and further study the distributed translation of the Special Region's language. Laxus was no different as he had a gut feeling he'd be needed just as much as his red haired guildmate, but he found it funny to see Natsu struggling to understand why he had to listen to someone else's orders.

* * *

Four days before the crossing of the Gate, all the volunteer mages were issued their military garb thanks in part by the Magic Council. To make sure confusion within the ranks was limited from sharing the same type of uniforms, volunteer uniforms were recolored to that of the Firoean Royal Military color palette and had the ankh symbol of the Magic Council removed. They were replaced with the Fiorean symbol which many were proud to wear.

The uniforms for the female mages consisted of thigh high black combat boots, sturdy combat pants, a black colored top that reached to the top of the upper thigh, a utility belt and completed with a long coat that rested just a bit above the knee. Levy had caught a glimpse of a few mages wearing the uniform and it strongly reminded her of the one she wore during her time working for the Magic Council. The same could be said for Gajeel as the men's uniform was almost similar to their female counterpart's version.

The male uniform had black combat boots in contrast but was pretty much the same overall although the long coat was interchangeable between one that reached down the calves, another at the knees or one that rested at thigh level. The one thing the iron dragon slayer simply had reserves about was the color swap; a navy base with certain pieces of the attire in gold and gray. Then again, he couldn't care anymore about it since he was mostly interested in the utility rather than the aesthetic look.

As for the dragon slayer, Gajeel sat at a training courtyard to see how the recruits were doing, especially now that they look the part of being in a military. Those uniforms were made to withstand punishment, so it was merely how well they could use their magic and to see if they needed some of the more experienced people to watch out for them while in combat.

The long-haired man watched as many of the mages trained in the new gear, getting themselves acquainted with what they'll most likely be wearing for a while. Some struggled as the uniforms were far from regular attire, mainly in movement as they were getting accustomed to the new weight on them. The uniforms were made with a material that was as light as could be without sacrificing the overall protection it gave, it was strong enough to withstand various spells without tearing. Gajeel could vouch for that as he remembered some of the old missions he had done for the Council alongside his unit and a few other members he got to know.

"Well I'll be a Vulcan's uncle; ain't that grumpy Lug Nut?" Gajeel turned around to see a familiar face he hadn't greeted in months, although he could have done without the Lug Nut part. "How ya doin', ya crazy ol' dragon? It's great to see ya!"

"Gihi, as great as I'll ever be Tyson or should I say "Head Chief?" Gajeel greeted taking in the sight of Tyson Hammer; an old friend he made in the Magic Council. Surprising that he was his friend, given that it was in the Council that they met each other.

He noticed how the white-haired man was still wearing his classic tight light blue shirt adorned with the Council logo on his left side, along with the crease bumps of where his thin suspenders were located underneath the shirt. Then towards his interesting take of wearing his black and white Council military coat over both his arms like a cape (even though he did it at one point too), and his ever iconic blue and gold trucker hat with the Council's logo on its front. He literally was the only man within the Council to wear one, but Tyson always said that it made him stand out as a Head Captain.

"Ya damn right I'm Head Chief, bein' placed in the city ain't somethin' a hands-on type like myself likes to be at, only if the Council's needn' my expertise I'll go." Tyson gave a hearty grin as Gajeel chuckled at his claim, glad to see his buddy again after being assigned half way around the country for nearly a year. "You're lookin' at one of the leadin' generals helping out Councilor Jura once he takes command as Supreme Commander of our forces in the Special Region."

"No shit, best not let that promotion get to your head. Your trucker hat ain't going to fit anymore of it." Gajeel joked but was actually proud that Tyson landed himself such a position, even if it came from such a terrible circumstance.

"Hey now, you leave my trucker hat out of this Lug Nut. 'Sides, where's yours, huh?" Tyson looked around his person to see if the one he gave the dragon slayer was with him but saw no sign of it.

"You think I've got the time to put it on with this hair?" Gajeel indulged him when he first gave it to him, but that was a challenge in of itself when they tried to get his hair through the back. "Plus, I'm not sure Titania's gonna like me wearing it out in the field."

"You mean that little missy with the red locks is gonna be your commanding officer? Why are you so afraid of someone like her, she's too naive for her own good." Tyson knew that she's got skill, but the red head was far from really being a **military** leader.

"She's most likely gonna get picked by the Queen, no way am I going against that. It doesn't really matter though; our unit can work independently so I still get a bit of freedom." He wasn't one for taking orders, but he liked the arrangement that he's getting out of being placed in the Special Forces Unit.

"Then you can wear yer trucker hat." Tyson added and Gajeel felt like he walked right into that one. "I'd better mosey on back to them recruits the Councilor's asked of me to help train. I'll see ya 'round Lug Nut and try to find Hugo and Alexis around here, they got a post here too."

"I'll keep an eye out for them." Gajeel waved good bye to the white-haired man and was genuinely curious to see the rest of his old friends again. Maybe fate brought them together again or maybe they all got stuck in getting these posts to go to another world. "Wonder if Levy's seen them yet?"

* * *

On the second to last day before the trek across the Gate, Queen Hisui had called for the top ranking Fairy Tail mages and her high-ranking officials to meet in her war room. It was like the calm before the storm as everyone was silently waiting for the Queen to speak, no one willing to break the silence as everyone's nerves were already on edge with the coming day.

"I thank you all for meeting me here today," Queen Hisui started and all focus was on alert to Her Highness. "We are now at the point of no return, Alvarez have already delivered the Jupiter Cannons along with the troops and vehicles they had promised us. As for our soldiers, their morale is high thanks to those that will fight alongside them and will continue to be so once they traverse the Gate.

"I have news to give before time is up so with all those present, I will inform you all of what will be happening. Thanks to the Magic Council coming to a swift conclusion, Rune Knight support will be assured and Jura Neekis will be Supreme Commander in charge of that division of the forces." The bald Wizard Saint bowed his head to the Queen before she continued on, "As for the mages that had been exempt from partaking in the MPF rankings, the Magic Council and I have come to the conclusion of positioning them as our Special Forces Unit. Erza Scarlet, please step forward."

Erza complied and bowed onto one knee before Her Highness as she gave the red-haired woman a kind smile. "I am at your service my Queen."

"You shall be taking on the role of Commander for this unit, by unanimous decision. You are free to choose your second in command at your own discretion." Queen Hisui finished and Erza raised from her kneeling position before turning to look at her guildmates and soon came to her answer.

"I have already decided my Queen; Laxus Dreyer shall be my second."

"Very well then, Laxus Dreyer will be deemed Second-in-Command. From here, we'll be moving onto what information we have received. Have the scouts returned Arcadios?"

"Yes, your Highness, awaiting on your call." Arcadios replied and with a subtle nod, a swift air swept through the room and in seconds there were several armored figures surrounding the Queen.

For the majority in the room, they had no idea where all these people came from, but for the Fairy Tailers, they were only wondering when these people would make themselves known as some had picked up their presences within the room. One particular woman with short dark hair had caught Lucy's eye as she could have sworn she'd seen her somewhere before.

"It is quite alright everyone, this is a specialized squadron that is under my command and have been scouting the Special Region during the past week. They've watched for movement alongside my Left Hand, although they primarily watched around the area of the Gate. Through them we are knowledgeable about what waits for us on the other side. If you wouldn't mind giving your report Riana, please tell us what you know."

"Yes, your Highness, my White Tigers and I have scouted a roughly sixteen-kilometer radius around the Gate and found that it is situated in a valley area with a forest to the North and Southwest. We did come across villages spread across the area and a river, although we had decided to fall back once we noticed the presence of a large military force marching their way to the Gate. The last we saw of them was when they set up a war camp about six kilometers away from the Gate, I advise for the troops be prepared for combat once they exit."

"So initial confrontation against the enemy is certified once we cross the Gate then." Erza voiced out as she tried to quickly form a battle plan. "We need to buy enough time for the Mk. III's to set up and for our people to create defenses."

"We can move the more battle-ready troops in first, gives us a fighting force situated on the battlefield and that'll focus the enemy's attention away from the Gate. From there, any earth mages can help erect stone barriers and the like to cover the cannons." One general added as the Jupiter Cannons were their best bet in breaking through the enemy's line.

"Then the mages should circle around the Gate to protect the flanks, our army holds the frontal assault while we have any blind spots covered. Once the Cannons are ready to fire, we'll issue a retreat command to get the troops out of the blast radius." A second general soon followed as it made sense for the enemy to try surrounding them in a valley from all sides.

"Riana is the valley, in any form, defensible?" Without any proper form of driving away the enemy, the Fiorean forces will end up sitting ducks with no escape aside from the Gate.

"I'm afraid not your Highness, but I do have a suggestion." She awaited the permission to speak from the Queen before she continued with the idea she had in mind. "If we utilize earth mages to manipulate the terrain, we can transform our surroundings so that it becomes a literal uphill battle for our enemies."

Murmurs started up from the generals at such an idea, many of them unsure how to react to it as they held their doubts to the woman who failed at protecting the country's greatest secret. It costed her all but one of her White Tigers and they believed that she could very well be leading their men to die needlessly. Riana, of course, knew that they wouldn't accept her proposal so easily because of her besmirched record although she truly believed her idea would work.

"Jura, do you think it's possible to do such a thing." Queen Hisui asked openly and the Wizard Saint stroked his long beard in thought.

"If all the earth and rock mages combined their powers, then it could very well be done; however, the durability of the Gate needs to be kept in mind. If it can withstand being risen to a higher elevation then Riana's plan can be done, if not then we must work around it just to be on the safe side." Jura was quite impressed with the suggestion as it would give them the advantage of the higher ground, but he worried that the Gate wouldn't be able to withstand the earth being manipulated on such a scale.

"Begin with creating defenses around the Gate, once things have settled then try minor experiments to see how much the Gate can take before it becomes troublesome to move it." Queen Hisui voiced as it was best to be protected than try taking such a large risk of destroying their only way home.

"Understood, my Queen." Jura responded and made a mental note to inform his troops and other mages to focus on defense. "We will be prepared once we've been deployed."

"Very well and as for you and your White Tigers, Riana, I'll be giving you a rest period until you will be deployed to the Special Region again." Queen Hisui thought it best to give them some time off as they spent quite a while in the other world under her orders.

"Permission to speak, my Queen." Riana was grateful to her queen for giving her a second chance, but she wanted to do more under her name to show it.

"Granted, speak freely Riana."

"As grateful as we are for granting us leave, we wish to continue our orders and assist in the first assault." This started another wave of murmurs from the generals as they hadn't come across any soldier to deny time off by order of the Royal Crown.

"I understand your eagerness to prove your worth to me, but can this represent all of those under your command?" Hisui looked at the rest of the White Tigers and each of them stood straight, slamming their fists on their chest plates over where their hearts were located. The specified salute of the White Tigers; a clear answer to her question. "Very well, you shall be a support unit that will protect the mages who will try to erect defenses."

"Thank you, your Highness." Riana said as she gave her the White Tiger salute and bowed her head, an action the rest of her unit copied. "We shall take our leave."

After that, they vanished just as they had appeared. It gave the Queen piece of mind that she had such talented individuals under her command, plus they showed their loyalty in their actions on more than one occasion. Though skepticism was still evident on some of those in her court in entrusting the short haired woman with guarding the mages, Hisui wondered why they disregard her other accolades. A matter for a different time as now she needed to address the rest of her plan for the first assault.

"Now that that has been settled, I'd like to offer you any assistance in commanding the Rune Knight forces, Jura. I can see which generals can be moved to help you and your division."

"That's quite alright, my Queen." The bald wizard Saint said as he pointed towards two individuals sitting off at a corner. "The Council has appointed three talented individuals to help lead our forces beside me; however, one is currently helping train the recruits before tomorrow."

The first to step up was an average built muscular man that was nearly as tall as Laxus, he wore a full body plate rune knight armor set that sported the colors of the Magic Council and held the gold ankh symbol on his breastplate. An interesting thing to note was that he was wearing a helmet shaped like an owl, which caused Natsu to shutter slightly from remembering bad memories about another owl headed man. Though the visor's holes, which looked like owl's eyes, glowed ominously with magic and Erza felt that he was looking directly at her for some reason. Added to that, she got the feeling that it wasn't in the best of lights, though she didn't let it her consume her thoughts for long.

"My name is Hugo Sharp; Head Captain of the 9th Strike Force Unit of the Magic Council, now field commander under the command of Councilor Jura Neekis." Hugo began once he removed his owl shaped helm to reveal his clean-cut facial features, his red eyes that were quickly justified to be the source of the glow his visor had when worn and his military cut black hair. "We will make sure that all of Fiore's goals will be met at all costs, my Queen."

Just at the glance of him, one could get the immediate sense of looking upon a hardened veteran. Some Fairy Tailers who had met Captains Laurel and Iris could make the easy connections these men could have with Hugo, although the rune knight looked to be years younger than those men.

Following him, the second person stepped up who was much shorter and had a well-shaped body. A woman no doubt, although the dragon slayers present (Natsu and Laxus) had picked up her scent and found that it was somewhat similar to Gray. In the sense that this woman was very likely to be from the Northern Regions like their guild mate, but they stayed silent as she became more visible. She stood next to Hugo proudly and lowered her hood to reveal her long white hair, clear blue eyes that reminded some of a frozen lake, and lush lips that would drive any man's desire.

A bombshell in Laxus's words, though her appearance kind of reminded him of Mirajane and it made all the more sense for him to classify her in such a way. Her outfit looked similar to what the female mages were wearing, but hers has been customized to fit her style to a certain extent. Nothing extravagant as Hugo's armor and owl helm, but enough of an archer's or rogue's aesthetic look to make her stand out.

"I'm Alexis Shiverpeak; Head Captain of the 6th Scout Ranger Unit of the Magic Council, the colonel who'll be working under the command of Jura Neekis." Alexis said in a sweet voice that was a direct opposite to her companion beside her with the harder edged voice. "Ready to serve for the greater good of Fiore."

"And lastly, Tyson Hammer who could not attend the meeting at the moment. He is my Major General, recently the Head Captain of the 3rd Custody Enforcement Unit." Jura completed and Queen Hisui acknowledged those that the Council has chosen to assist the wizard saint in their rescue operation.

"Moving on from this, we'll continue to discuss necessary battle plans in preparation for what lies in wait for us." Queen Hisui then placed attention to the map recently created by the White Tigers of the area they scouted. "Before I continue, I want to make something clear. This is our enemy, causalities will occur and I will not have many on our side. Eliminate those that threaten the lives of our allies, but if they surrender then take them into custody."

"Prisoners of war, your Highness?" A general asked as he didn't expect this enemy to give up now that they could be made to believe that Fiore was an invading force on their land.

"Yes, they can have use for us aside from the ones we currently have imprisoned. Relay this order to all troops; kill if necessary or take prisoner if the enemy has surrendered."

Many saw where the Queen was going with this, but some had their reserves of the order. Erza being one such person as her job of keeping Natsu in check will be harder now that Queen Hisui has given the "okay" to kill. She wanted to stop him from becoming a greater killer by limiting his actions, but now she'd have to double her efforts to keep him from unleashing his might on the people who he now knows to be his enemy. This was going to be a long operation for her.

* * *

The day had finally come for the Fiorean Expeditionary Forces to make the grand trek across the Gate. The main avenue the Gate had taken root in was cleared to allow the Rhinos and Jupiter Cannons a clear passageway but had yet to be loaded in as troops were bidding their loved ones goodbye or waiting for the Queen's departing speech. The volunteer mages were no different as friends and even guildmates came to wish them luck out on the battlefield. Gajeel was similar to these mages as he made his way towards Levy and Gale, his wife idly chatting with Alexis while the white-haired woman played with his daughter.

"Here comes Papa Dragon to say bye-bye, isn't that right Gale." Alexis cooed to the toddler who laughed in response, the iron dragon slayer almost forgetting that the white-haired woman was very much like a mother hen to the people she's come to look after; be it her own troops or people she grew close to.

"Think you can handle her on your own for a bit?" Gajeel asked as Alexis gave a quick nod and walked away with Gale to give her parents some alone time. "Catching up with an old friend, I see."

"It's been such a long time since we saw each other, I think the last time was when Gale was born although she's still the same person as ever." Levy gave a small giggle although it was short lived and buried herself into her husband's arms. "Honestly, I'm always afraid of losing you and then you up and join the military. Can't you give me a break every now and again?"

"I'm a dragon slayer, danger's bound to follow me at some point." Gajeel replied with a chuckle and Levy buried herself in his chest. "I promise you I won't die out there, you two are what will make sure that happens."

"Feels great to know that you'll come back to us, better make sure you don't eat any rusted iron over there though." The bluenette advised and Gajeel chuckled again at how caring his wife was being. "I do love the uniform on you though, reminds me of the one you had when we were working for the Council."

"Gihi, I make this look good although the color sure does remind me of Salamander's team color during our first time in the Grand Magic Games." His coat was dark blue with gold seams and straps with the Firoen symbol located on the upper arms, he wore a black shirt with his collar raised, a utility belt without pouches, dark gray pants and black combat boots. "I'll try to get used to it."

"I really don't want to let you go, but you'll probably get in trouble with Erza even before you guys get to the other side." Levy reluctantly let go of Gajeel and he gently rubbed away a tear from her face. "You must be glad no one you know can see you being gentle, huh?"

"Except for me!" Alexis cheered as she came back with Gale, the little one on the verge of tears as she reached out for her father. "She got restless when she saw her parents hugging, I guessed she sensed how sad Mommy was getting." The white-haired woman hugged the smaller woman to comfort her and Levy accepted it without resistance.

"You be a strong girl for Papa, alright? Mama's gonna need you while I'm off stopping the bad guys." Gale nodded her head in response and Gajeel gave her a kiss to her cheek. "That's my girl, show me you can be just as brave as Papa." She flexed her imaginary muscles to show him her bravery and he chuckled in response.

"Gale big gurru." Gale said as her father passed her to her mother who in turn smiled at her daughter's words.

"I'll be home in no time, you'll see." Gajeel tried to reassure his fretting wife and kissed her to ease her nerves.

"I love you." Levy said as the long-haired man turned to make his way back to his unit, stopping at her words and turning with a smirk.

"I know." And like that he kept walking, Levy already knowing how embarrassed he was thanks to Alexis being around to say it back.

"Ain't he adorable, too afraid to say his true feelings because I'm around." Alexis commented as if she read Levy's mind and gave the bluenette one more hug before she needed to get going as well. "Don't you worry about a thing Levy, I'll make sure that big oaf comes home to you in one piece."

"Thank you, Alexis, it means a lot." It really did as she could trust the white-haired woman to keep her word, Levy knew that first hand thanks to working alongside her.

"Anytime time love, so you make sure you are looking pretty when he returns." She giggled before waving the mother and daughter goodbye, then making her way towards the Rune Knight meeting point.

Conversations like those between couples were abundant around the archer and she had caught the busty blonde she saw in the war room make her way to Levy from the corner of her eye, guessing that those two were pretty good friends aside from guildmates. As for everything else, well she had to see what her fellow high-ranking knights had in mind for them and yet she couldn't help but wonder what the Special Forces commander was planning to do. It was her vanguard that will be the first to engage in combat so their assault rested on her battle plans.

As for said commander, Erza was formulating a battle strategy to help buy their forces time to fully deploy, finally finding a use for Natsu in it. As she looked over these plans, she started listing off the people under her command although she came to realize that someone was missing. The slayers were accounted for, from both Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, Lucy was reassigned into her ranks and all Exceeds as well except for Happy who has gone missing. No one has seen the blue furred cat anywhere, but it was too late to do a complete search for him. Natsu tried his best with no luck, so they had to leave it in the hands of everyone else back home to search for him. There she went getting side tracked about Happy, too much on her mind was making her lose focus and she needed it now that they were on the zenith hour.

"Wendy have you seen Gray?" Erza asked the young teen as she was coming to join up with her in their Rhino after casting Troia on those who needed it. "I haven't seen him around and we're moving out soon."

"I got word from Bisca that he was on his way back to Crocus, but he'll be joining the Second Wave." Wendy knew the plan was to traverse in waves; the first being the initial assault, the second to fortify their surroundings when the enemy was defeated and the last one will be to firmly secure the region under their control. "From what I know, he went to visit somewhere before going back to Magnolia and heading back here."

"You've got to be kidding me, he was one of our best defenders. Guess I'll have to double down to cover his share. He won't get out of this without a punishment, that's for sure." She had it all planned out, but now she was short a strong defender. Thankfully they could still manage, although it still meant that the ice mage had to face a rather angry C.O. when he returns. "We should get ready for the Que-"

"If I can have everyone please quite down, Queen Hisui would like to address the Fiorean Expeditionary Forces personally." Arcadios announced from constructed stage off to the side of the road, the crowd hushing their voices along with the soldiers. "Thank you."

Hisui made herself visible upon the stag, flanked by Arcadios and his Cherry Blossom Holy Knight captains with a compassionate smile framing her face. She gave a once over to all those that had gathered and activated a voice amplifying spell so that her voice could carry on towards even the furthest of those in the crowd.

"Brave men and women of the FEF, as your Queen I am filled with gratitude and pride of what you all are gathered here to do. You will be our nation's representatives and hope within the Special Region, as well as saviors to those taken away from us not long ago. The citizens, your family and friends have gathered here to wish you luck and give you their prayers for your safety. You all will be in my thoughts and I will not rest until this conflict is solved with Fiore and her people standing on top."

"Many of you may feel apprehension, possibly fear of the unknown and I will say that I'm very aware of it. You have our support, you have your allies standing beside you and you have a number of talented mages on your side who have volunteered to join you on this expedition." HIsui watched as the more nervous faced soldiers relax a bit as they took in her words, but she knew she had to continue her speech to inspire them. "They will be the closest people you will have and are the people who have faced adversity before. Our great nation has been attacked once before by a power far superior to us, but we did not lose hope and fought on with every ounce of power left within us."

"Reignite that hope to warm your soul, to steel your resolve and light your way through the darkness of despair. Our strengths will bring our people home and it will be thanks to all that you will accomplish which will guide them safely. We are a people united, we will stand against injustice and if our efforts in the Special Region assist those that call it home, then we will become their beacon of hope."

"Brave men and women of both Fiore and Alvarez, you take with you our hopes and carry courage within your hearts. Go forth and show our true might!" Cheers rang out all around, from the citizens gathered to the soldiers lined up with their units at the Queen's speech.

It could easily be said that they were truly inspired and those from Alvarez were impressed with the Queen. An endeavor that is quite rare to do when it comes to another monarch of a foreign country. Though all this needed to pass as all the troops began to mount up into the Rhinos and, those designated for it, got onto Jack Rabbits. The Special Forces were at the forefront and all four of their vehicles quickly filled up with those that would be leading the vanguard. As Erza boarded the front most vehicle in the forward passenger's seat, she couldn't help being a bit weary that Gray was not going to be with them for the first assault, something a cat eared woman had caught sight of as she came up to her.

"Come on Erzipoo~ no need to be worried, we've all got your back." Millianna said as she came by to wish them luck as she had been placed within the main unit.

"It's quite reassuring that I'll have so many people assisting me, but don't mind me Millianna because you need to focus on your squad." She had heard that the cat girl had earned a captain's position and was in charge of a squad within the main Fiorean force. "We'll make sure to clear you all a path so you can get a chance at helping."

"Looking forward to it!" Millianna waved as she quickly made her way back to her Rhino, which had a conspicuous cat face drawn on the side of it that anyone in its vicinity could see.

Erza watched as she ran off and steadied her breathing once the lacrima engines came to life and she could feel the vibration of the gears moving once the command to move forward was given. At a steady speed, the Rhinos made their way through the Gate and those inside watched as the walls seemed to go on and on. It felt like an hour had gone by and if the Gate was the same from the outside, then the 100th pillar shouldn't have existed although there was one person who couldn't care about it. Natsu tapped his foot on the metal floor of the vehicle, his impatience for a fight showing for his fellow team mates to see and everyone made the wise decision in asking him not to stop.

As for the others; Lucy tried to keep her mind at ease with making idle chatter with Wendy, Laxus was busy driving so he kept his eyes locked forward and Gajeel decided to close his eyes and get some rest before the battle. The last two within Erza's Rhino were formidable mages from Sabertooth, Rogue and Minerva, who spoke to each other in hushed tones about what would be waiting for them on the other side. Erza tried to clear her mind from everyone's voices and as she began to settle herself, Laxus stopped her in her tracks.

"There's light up ahead, looks like were almost out of here." Laxus could make it out from a few hundred meters, but he had also caught sight of small red dots in the distance. "I think it's time to call it in, looks like we have a welcoming party." Erza nodded her head as she picked up the communications lacrima and projected to all forces.

"This is Commander Scarlet to all forces; the Gate opening is coming into range. I repeat; the Gate opening is coming into range, prepare for battle!" She waited for the confirmations to pour in before she put down the lacrima, her adrenaline starting to pump into her system as the opening drew closer and the red dots could be seen even better. Those red dots were in fact thousands of lit torches.

"Looks like this is going to be fun, don't you think Commander" Minerva said aloud to the red head, but before Erza could reply, Natsu kicked the back doors opened and climbed onto the roof of the Rhino. Even though they were basically a few feet away from exiting the Gate.

"Natsu, where you going!?" Erza questioned as he jumped onto the hood in front of them, but Laxus merely sighed in annoyance of the pink haired slayer's actions.

"Isn't it obvious?" Erza looked quizzically towards the blonde man before he pointed a finger towards the dragon slayer on their hood. "He's going to give them a "warm" greeting." As soon as he said that, Natsu launched himself forward into an opening and took an all too familiar stance.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

* * *

 **A/N:** _Been a while since I've done one of these; first off I'd like to say thank you for still following this story for this long and hope you'll follow it along as it progresses. Secondly, I'd like to give thanks to **Warmachine375** for giving me a few ideas to help flesh out the Fiorean military along with the Council's as well. Goes the same for giving me permission for the OCs introduced here, but they will only be seen on and off at times. If you want to learn about what I'm talking about, then you can take a look at his review to see the rankings I mentioned before if you're curious. Finally, about the ships...who knows! I don't think I can do romance justice, but if it happens than I most likely didn't see it happen myself. As weird as that sounds, a ship could happen without my own knowledge and I wrote the thing! _

_All and all, thanks again for reading this fic._


	8. The New World Pt I

The New World Pt. I

Fear ran through his spine, urine down his lower garments and the sound of his blood rushing inside his ears as he desperately tried to regroup with someone. A squad or platoon or even another lone soldier would be better at this point, he just didn't want to die alone in this forsaken valley. He prayed to the gods of where all this went wrong, what had **he** done to be damned to the chaos around him? He had heard his orders, followed his battalion and leaders in a march to the Artisian Valley where he and his fellow soldiers were to stop the advancement of an invading force and reclaim the land. It was said that they would have an easier battle in comparison to the Allied Kingdoms that would attack Alnus Hill. It was a lie that they all were paying dearly for with their lives.

When he first heard these orders, he believed that the holy site should have been the duty of the Imperial military to recapture from the invaders, but his opinion did not matter since he was just another no named soldier in the military in the eyes of the nobles. Now as he stood shaken at what laid before him, he regretted not following in his father's steps into becoming a merchant within the grand capital. He'd die a nobody trying to retake this valley, where only just a few seconds ago, a battalion of men he shared a meal with not three hours ago were obliterated and consumed in a mass of fire. He watched as the flames swept passed overhead and bared witness of what used to be three hundred men now reduced to charred husks, the screams of those who managed to evade them echoing in what used to be a cold night. Reason being was for the fact that those flames were so intense that their armor was literally melting into their skin.

He dared not make another step and watched as a metallic carriage emerge from the Gate, confused as to how it was being drawn without a horse although it slowly eroded away back into fear. The nameless soldier watched as it came to a stop and its passengers emerged, individuals dressed in some sort of uniform garbs although it was who they were that drew his attention. The ones that exited were three men, three women and a young girl although the last two who came out drew his anger if only minutely as their appearance was all too familiar. Cat people had betrayed the Empire and brought with them some sort of military force, daring to wear the enemy's own colors to boot.

The group was soon joined by a fourth young man with pink hair and a scarf around his neck, wearing a similar uniform like the rest except for a missing sleeve on his right arm. Even at a distance the soldier could see a fire burning within his eyes, a glare set in that it matched one of the most terrifying creatures most people knew to exist; a dragon. He soon discovered that this young man was the culprit to all those deaths as his body became alit with flames but he didn't scream in pain, rather he was producing them himself. They stood there watching as his fellow countrymen ran in different directions in order to regroup and soon a war horn was blown to notify the night creatures to begin their assault. The horn was blown by one of the captains as he rode his horse forward, giving out a shaky war cry as he began his attack. It would have inspired some of his troops into action if it weren't for the fact that the space before him erupted chaotically, the culprit being one of the women who had two buns atop her head as she began to lower her hand.

The captain's sacrifice was enough time for the creatures to close the distance and now stood side by side with Imperial soldiers, their bloodlust radiating off of them. These hellions were the first to charge the Gate head on, the soldier glad that their fear was barely registering into their tiny minds although his grew even more once a powerful lightning strike decimated the first wave of them. The blonde-haired man had his fist extended to them, the audible crackling of the lightning surrounding it being heard from where the nameless soldier stood. The first wave was defeated, but the creatures continued to swarm and it made those individuals split off to tackle their situation, an opening some soldiers took as a way to advance. He didn't know whether they were stupidly brave or bravely stupid to try and continue the attack after what they saw, but he was soon being shoved forward towards the melee.

He kept a lookout for the pink haired enemy as it meant a quick death once he unleashed his flames, but once he caught sight of him, he stared in bafflement as one of the cat people grabbed onto his back and sprouted wings. He couldn't believe that such a thing was possible although now it made the situation much worse as they flew off to the larger area of congregated monsters and set them on fire. The nameless soldier couldn't tell whether the pink haired young man was spewing those flames from his hands or from his mouth, but it only served to remind him of the stories his grandfather had told him about the fire dragon. What lion's tail had his Empire stepped on to bring such ferocity upon them?

His thoughts fell back onto the battle as one of his fellow soldiers came crashing right before his feet, soon followed by even more until he looked at the source. It was one of the women, her hair just as bright as Princess Pina Co Lada's although the difference between the two was that this woman was much more than a princess. Legends spoke of women who breathed combat, ones that were worth more than two thousand men on any battlefield and can make the greatest of differences in a battle. He thought them as mere tall tales that only fueled the Princess' desire to create her Rose Order Knights, but now he could see the tales coming to life. The scarlet haired woman fought off ten men on her right and ten more on her left, her movements swift and agile but also deadly. Her body would shine brightly before her clothes would miraculously transform into armors he had never seen before but served to make her even more powerful.

The old legends of the War Maidens were real and his people were fighting against one. Gods help them.

He tried to move his feet forward, backward and any real direction just so he could move and make sure he wasn't dead yet. He barely moved two feet before another body landed on top of him, throwing him to the ground and before he could get it off, the last thing he saw was a boot before his world turned black.

* * *

"Erza, we've cleared up enough for the rest of the units to start pouring out!" Minerva called out as she blew up the space in front of a group of goblins rushing her. "It's time to change the tide."

"Lucy, fire the signal!" Erza commanded as the blonde transformed into her Sagittarius form and launched a shining arrow into the Gate, the signal Erza implemented to allow the Special Forces time to clear out space for the rest of the forces before they moved in. "Laxus make your way to the rear, reinforcements will join you shortly!"

"On it!" Laxus sent out a thunder wave to give him enough breathing room and make his way to the rear of the Gate, his job was to make sure they weren't blindsided. "Rogue come with me!" The shadow dragon slayer nodded before running alongside him, taking out as many enemies as he could to ease the flow that would charge in once he left his area.

The rumbling sound of vehicles grew louder as the first of the Rhinos started to pour out of the Gate, Fiorean soldiers and Rune Knights quickly pouring out into squads before taking on the enemy. The Special Forces kept their eyes on them as these were essentially the second part of the vanguard so casualties were to be expected although many wouldn't allow it to happen if they had any say about it.

Amongst those in the Rune Knights attacking, Field Commander Hugo Sharp followed alongside his men into battle. His owl helm's eyes glowing ominously as magic began to radiate off of him and the next thing many of his allies had noticed was that any enemy charging at him lost the will to fight and fear was plain to see across their face, be it a man or one of the goblins. In a single instant, with their defenses dropped, Hugo cut them down without a second thought and moved on to more enemies.

Many of the Rune Knights already are aware of his magic, but to those who didn't, they would think that his magic makes his helm much more terrifying and quickly dispatches his foes before they have any time to recover their senses. Their assumptions are almost close; however, Hugo wields the magic of Overpower, essentially breaking down an opponent on a psychological level with an overbearing aura that leaves them defenseless. Useful against such opponents now although the stronger the will, the more power it will take to break them.

"Keep a tight formation, avoid spreading out too much!" Hugo took out another group of soldiers as they tried to sneak up behind him, but he wondered how much was the enemy willing to throw at them before they gave up. "Push them back!"

The Knights were carefully trained and drilled since the changes to the Magic Council and for the better as it has helped them grow vastly. Rune Knights have made themselves into a formidable force over the years now that the Council is Wizard Saint run and so that meant that their tactics were far superior to the ones their predecessors had been using. Less casualties and more results, which they are doing so at the very moment as they continued to push back the enemy although they were far from perfect. They hadn't expected to be continuously hounded by arrows from a distance so defensive magic was implemented more often than any offensive as a few who had tried were struck by arrows. Since they joined the attack, the Rune Knights have lost twelve people although the same could not be said about the Fiorean soldiers as they were losing more to the arrows than to melee combat.

"Commander Scarlet, protect your men!" Hugo shouted as Erza deflected a hail of arrows trying to attack a few wounded soldiers that were being carried away by more able-bodied ones. "A knight protects those weaker than oneself or have you been too busy enjoying the glory of combat?"

"I have my best ranged fighters dealing with them, I know what I'm doing!" Erza replied back, not one to be criticized on her battle plans let alone her position as a knight. "Reinforce yourselves with your shields! Arrows and spearman are approaching!"

As Erza had pointed out, a hail of fire arrows was about to descend upon them before the scarlet head requipped into her Adamantine Armor and casted a large shield to protect them. They bounced off easily enough thanks to the massive shield, but it didn't stop the approaching spearman as they jabbed at the Expeditionary Forces. The shields the Firoean soldiers had were reinforced steel that held out against the spears, but it was because of the reach the enemy had that the Firoeans couldn't counter. The formulated line of spearman began to push against their advance, causing a stalemate of shields and spears. Erza would have assisted if it weren't for the arrows that she needed to defend against and those who could deal with them needed to split their attention between helping thin numbers and getting rid of the archers. Hugo had noticed this and would have come to their aid, but the protective inscriptions had yet to be finished to give cover from arrows in his defended area.

"Turtle formation, advance on my command!" Hugo shouted as his shield wielders formed a defensive shell, allowing the wounded time to move out of the line of fire and the script mages to finish in safety.

It took time, but the script mages had managed to complete the protective barrier for the secured point where the wounded would rendezvous so it was one problem less for them to deal with. Once Hugo was informed of their completion he marched his units forward alongside the rest of the vanguard, disappointed at the lack of advancement the _commander_ has made since the battle had begun.

"Squads Three and Five, advance to the line at the east. Those men won't last any longer with those creatures hounding at them." Hugo commanded as the mentioned squads broke off from the Turtle and rushed their way through enemies to support a group of Firoean soldiers. "We need the breathing room _Commander_ but we can't afford to be spread out so thinly!"

"We were doing fine until the archers began their barrage, my ranged supporters have too much interference to correctly deal with them!" Erza called back as she toppled another advancing group of soldiers, her attention divided between them and her allies behind her. "Are the runes completed?"

"Why else would I be here for?" The red head couldn't tell if that was sarcasm or if he truly answered her in such a manner, but just nodded in understanding. "Tell your people to cover the wounded and join the fight, having their commander in the back lines isn't helping our cause."

"I need to protect my own, do I not? I can't press the attack if it leaves them wide open" Erza threw his jab back at him, but she was unsure if it had any real effect because of that owl helm he was wearing.

"You're not protecting them, your babysitting them! If you really were protecting them, you'd lessen the burden they have to deal with in this fight!" Hugo shot back as he parried three blades at once and cut his attackers down in quick succession.

Erza was conflicted at his reasoning because it did make sense for her to try everything she could to make it easier for the soldiers, but at the same time she couldn't risk leaving them open to ranged attack. Lucy was trying her best alongside Minerva; the blonde had the ability of a mastered archer with razor sharp precision, while Minerva had area of effect explosives on her side so she was bound to hit something if she generalized the area she targeted. Though the other ranged attackers weren't a gifted as them, so the likelihood for them to strike down the archers were much lower. This was why Gray would have been ideal in this situation, his defenses were phenomenal and his ranged attacks would have dealt with those archers in a second. It was up to her to make her mind as soon as possible for the betterment of her troops, but her mind kept her conflicted.

Luckily a saving grace came in the form of an ice arrow flying past many heads before creating an ice explosion in which a number of enemy archers were located in. Erza dared to hope that Gray had actually made it in time to help them, but it was dashed as the woman she saw at the briefing jumped off the roof of her Rhino. Her hood was pulled up as her bow glowed a beautiful blue hue, smiling towards the captains and commanders that had taken notice of her arrival.

"Don't worry, the main unit's already here!" Colonel Alexis Shiverpeak called out as even more Rhinos began to pour out of the Gate, this time the volunteer mages were coming in to support as well. "The boys with the big toys will be helping you here, my people and I will reinforce the rear!"

Hugo nodded to her before getting back into combat, but Erza was confused at her claim as she thought the Jupiter Cannons were situated at the rear to allow charge time and clearing of the more immediate enemies. No later did Alexis leave that the last of the commanding leaders of the Rune Knights emerged from their shared Rhino, Major General Tyson Hammer and Supreme Commander Jura Neekis.

"Glad we ain't missin' the party, I reckon we can deal with your archer problem in not time, girly." Tyson said as he moved forward, his band of Rune Knights and Firoean soldiers quickly forming up behind him, each carrying automatic magic rifles. "Supreme Commander, I'll be needn' the earth mages to create gun placements for these ladies and gents."

"I'll also be assisting you in this endeavor Major Hammer, the troops will need as much support as we can offer." Jura signaled for the earth mages to follow his lead as he began to erect structures that gave vantage points and with enough cover to stop arrows. From there they created barricades that were tall enough for a person to be crouched behind and be completely covered.

Tyson sent the squads of heavy gunners he came with towards the structures while he led the rest towards the barricades, many of the troops prepared to open fire once he gave the order although there were those who nervously looked around the battlefield before them. The more seasoned troops kept their focus on their Major, but most of the civilian volunteers couldn't help themselves as this would mark their very first time in actual combat. Though the novelty wore away as Tyson's booming voice commanded that all attention went to him, the preparations he was waiting for finally complete from the earth mages.

"Riflemen, and women, y'all are going to provide cover fire for our people. The Hammers will focus on suppression so the enemy don't gain any footholds as they pull out." He turned to see an explosion a distance off and assumed one of the volunteer mages needed more room for themselves. "Them barricades will give ya cover to reload, but I want at least three people firing for every two that need to reload. Your job's to hold them off so we can advance and gain more ground once the MK. III's show up."

"Major General! Hammers are placed and ready to fire on your command!" A corporal called down from one of the earthen short towers.

"Good, I'll fire the signal for the rest of ya to give surpressin' fire." Tyson made his way to overlook the barricades and could see just enough spacing to give his units enough room to do their jobs, grateful that the earth mages raised them a bit higher off the ground so the rifles would be shooting over allied heads. "Hey Cherry, get the troops out of there! Did ya hear me, Commander Cherry!?"

Many of the soldiers were unsure of who their Major was talking to, but they followed his line of sight towards the Special Forces commander. Many were aware of her reputation and wondered why he was referring to her in such a way, but kept their mouths shut for the most part. They watched as she didn't respond until a Fiorean soldier had pointed out that she was being called and turned with genuine confusion to whoever was calling her.

"Bout time you looked, move your people back and let us deal with them." She looked conflicted for a brief moment before she gave the order to fall back. "Alright everyone, you know what to do. Pick your targets, keep an eye on your magic cartridge and watch the crossfire!"

Tyson outstretched his hand and fired a pulse of blue magic at the enemy, which was the signal the towers were waiting for and let loose a deadly barrage of magic rounds. The Hammers opened up as soon as the Fiorean knights brought up the tower shields to defend their backs and began to help the wounded. Their job wasn't to accurately target the enemy, it was to suppress their movement and make it impossible for them to advance against their retreating allies. Though it didn't matter much as the congestion of enemy troops was so large that the Hammer gunners immediately thought of shooting fish in a barrel with how easy it was to kill an enemy. The archers that were giving the knights a hard time found it impossible to even draw their bow as the number of magic rounds being fired dropped three archers before even one managed to pull an arrow from their quiver.

A rifleman recruit who was helping lead knights out of the way of combat took the briefest of moments to be awe struck of the power the Hammers possessed, though he had the lingering question about what they were exactly. He's heard of magic guns ranging from pistols to revolvers and snipers to sub-machine guns, but he's never seen such a thing like those heavy guns before. A sergeant, who was also helping the knights at the moment, took notice of the private's wonderment and realized that he was a civilian volunteer rather than a fellow Rune Knight. He was green and that meant that he was responsible of making sure the recruit does his part, this integration they needed to do to bolster numbers was going to take time for him to get used to it.

"Recruit, keep your focus! As soon as the knights clear out, we'll be needed at the barricades." The sergeant reprimanded, though he understood that he might not have seen some of the weaponry they use.

"Sir, yes sir!" The recruit responded as he understood that he should listen to his superiors at all times, a point that was drilled into him in that week of training. "This seems to be the last of them." The recruit said before another blue hued beam was shot in the air, this time as the advancing signal from the Major General.

"Rifles, move on up! Groups of seven for every barricade!" Tyson called out as his troops rushed forward, each one already taking aim at every enemy in their sights. "I want results, make sure my trainin' don't go to waste!"

The first volley of blue magic shots erupted from a curved line of barricades that mowed down enemy troops as they rushed the Gate. Tower shields were erected in response to this but were no much for the piercing power each magic round had within it, so they fell in a matter of seconds before the rifles might.

"Seven behind shields on your left!"

"Goblins running down the center, take them out!"

"Those goddamn archers are still up in the back!"

"I'm empty, reloading!"

Callouts were crucial for all rifleman to use as it goes a long way in making sure everyone had situational awareness, the other reason for using a dated tactic is because some of the riflemen couldn't use magic so lacrima would be harder to use. In any case, the recruits were doing their best to match their more experienced peers, but half the time they fired needless shots into a downed enemy or grazed them instead of a direct hit. Though it was nothing compared to the way they fired their rifles, it went against all that the Rune Knights had been trained to do under the command of Tyson.

Tyson's garrison of Rune Knights was made up of very well-disciplined riflemen and women that understood perfectly about the benefit of burst fire, thus gaining their nickname as the "Burst Platoons," so watching civilians fire in full auto alongside them had struck a few cords. Something Tyson had taken notice but searched for an opportune time to call them out on it, which luckily came in the form of a recruit trying to figure out why his rifle was already empty.

"You burned through all yer shots too fast, city boy." Tyson began as the recruit looked up at him, the white-haired man quickly pointing to a Rune Knight still firing. "Reload a new cartridge and watch how the professionals are doing it. Burst fire's the way to go, keeps ya fighting longer and keepin' yer accuracy intact."

"Major, aerial units inbound!" The corporal from earlier informed him as he noticed the figures coming into view; dragon riders.

"Attach long barrels and have Hammers on AA duty, bring them overgrown lizards down!" Tyson ordered as a quarter of the heavy gunners reconfigured themselves to try and shoot down the dragon riders. "Keep em' from getting close overhead, last thing we want is for these punks to be bombarding us with rocks." The trucker hat wearing man knew that the Hammers weren't exactly made to shoot down flying targets, but it would at least keep them at bay so they only needed to worry about the enemy on the ground.

"Tower Two, focus fire; forty degrees west!"

"I'm out, pass me another cartridge belt!"

"Dragon rider down! Three for me, Dolan!"

The strategy kept pace and began to riddle down the enemy's initial assault's numbers by a fair margin, giving the FEF plenty of breathing room to advance once again. The barricades were raised higher as well allowing the rifles to shoot overhead without worry of friendly fire, this in turn made the return of the vanguard back into the fray much easier. Positioning was key, so melee fighters formed tight-knit squads to defend their backs and fight in numbers to overwhelm most opposition. The dragon riders had been a minor nuisance for a time before Natsu had stepped in and cleared the skies entirely but later disappeared from view until a fiery explosion rocked them from south of the Gate.

* * *

Natsu's anger was blazing now that he was fighting his enemy face to face, his emotions flaring so rapidly that Panther Lily burned his paws on occasion. It was only when his most recent dive bomb attack that Panther Lily was allowed to cool his paws from the burns, but Natsu had decided for the Exceed to go on without him. The scarred Exceed was unsure if it was the best course of action to leave him unsupervised but was reassured when Laxus informed him that he'd watch over the pink haired slayer. Lily gave in although he made it apparent that Laxus would have to speak with Erza if she started to complain about anything, in which the lightning mage sighed in acceptance. As for Natsu, he was unchained and ready to show everyone what happens when you mess with the wrong people.

The pink haired dragon slayer first rushed a small squad of armored soldiers so fast that they couldn't raise up a single sword before Natsu's flaming fist had pierced through their armor. His unwavering anger, fueled by his passion for combat made his flames burn brighter and hotter as he fought every last soldier he came across. Every blade coming his way melted before his flames, armor became useless when he could kick his way through it and range was out of the question when he could shoot his own fireballs. He carved his way through squads, decimating them to the point that charred bodies that were intact was the best any of them could ever hope to be left as.

His eyes burned when blood splashed onto his face, seeping down his forehead and now left to be literally seeing red. He made to wipe the blood off his face, but his mind wandered back to the battle in the capital. To the moment of him seeing the enemy killing a Firoean citizen for the first time, he wore the blood to scare the other captives and smiled savagely as he dragged a woman by the hair and pinned her against a wall. The image burned into his mind at the sight of her tears and her pleading for him to let her go, to stop what he was about to do to her and her cries as he began choking her. His anger flared intensely once again and this time his fist not only pierced through the shield put in front of him, but also through the armor the soldier wore and his lung.

Onlookers stopped in their tracks at the sight of one of their comrades having a fist going through their body, but Natsu took advantage of their horror and continued his assault. He pounced on another soldier, using him as a makeshift club as he swung at anything that came close to him. Those who were smart enough ran from the impending death that was the pink haired pyromancer and were the lucky ones since they were dispatched with a Wing Attack in one fluid motion instead of having every bone in their body shattered by one of his strikes. The pink haired slayer would have continued his pursuit if it weren't for the cries of fellow Firoean soldiers getting overrun not far from him. As swift as the wind, he tore through ranks of soldiers and erected a wall of fire to give his allies some breathing room as both creatures and men were nearly on top of them. They gave him smiles of gratitude for the chance to get their bearings again and Natsu instructed them to fall back as they pushed too far without support and were lucky he was in the immediate area.

It was then that he noticed the state of his allies and how they weren't fairing as great as he was, so he reluctantly reigned himself in to support them before it was too late. Natsu created a multitude of fire walls to help fend off the enemy to assist the wounded as they tried to retreat, but even he wasn't fast enough to save everyone as a small group of Fiorean soldiers were overwhelmed by the enemy and the dragon slayer could hear their cries of pain amongst the chaos. He wasn't aware of their losses; how many were too hurt to keep fighting but he did know that he was taking down ten enemies for every one they lost. It was a fair enough trade and as he turned to fire a Dragon's Roar at a cluster of monsters coming at him, a familiar iron arm sword cut them all down in a few swift strikes.

"Keep the roars when you're in the air Salamander, you might char some of our boys' bodies." Gajeel reprimanded as he dealt with an approaching team of spearmen with an iron club. "We need to send them home in one piece and recognizable to the families."

"I thought you were at the front with Erza?" Natsu questioned as he blasted three soldiers away with a Dragon Talon.

"I was, but the rest of the forces have shown up. I'm here to clear a better path for those reinforcing this side, but it looks like you've been busy doing that for me." Gajeel had actually wanted some more action, but with all that's going on at the front it seemed he'd get hit with a stray magic shot if anything.

"These assholes haven't paid for what they've done for yet, there's still more for me to do!" Natsu cried out as he struck a soldier with an Iron Fist, no doubt destroying his internal organs, which cleared a path in front of him as the body toppled others as it flew away.

"Too bad, Commander Scarlet has ordered you to get back in the sky." Gajeel said as Lily flew down into the battle next to him, his sword drawn as he parried a blade coming at him. "Lily's here to take you back to your post, now go!"

"Tsk" Natsu clicked his tongue, allowing Lily to grab onto the shoulders of his coat and lift him into the air. "Just make sure you take a lot of these assholes down for me, alright!?" He called as he was being lifted away.

"Whatever" Gajeel responded but was glad he got the pink haired slayer out of there. He noticed his handy work and knew it was best to stop Salamander while he was ahead, who knows what the others would find further out into the battlefield. Best if he let that thougt go for now was all the iron dragon slayer had to think about on the topic.

The overview of the battle would show that the southern area of the Gate was much more manageable now that Natsu had reduced quite a number of enemies that had closed the distance earlier in the fight, with the situation slowly eroding away from a stalemate into an advance at the forefront. A busty blonde fighting in the area was trying her best to ignore the growing soreness her arms were feeling after firing what should be around her two hundredth arrow after Erza told her switch into a ranged attacker.

Lucy, in her Sagittarius dress, made her arrows count and made use of Loke's Gatlin Regulus with Sagittarius' scatter arrow. She created a very powerful attack she dubbed "Star Fall" that allowed her to fire a multitude of arrows in various directions to give her a wider effective range. It was doing well as she suppressed larger groups from banding together and allowed Minerva to clear them out with her spatial magic. An effective team up if she had to say, but while her attacks merely stunned, knocked out or blocked enemies, Minerva was the only one really gaining any confirmed kills in this. Everyone had their way of taking on this battle, but she couldn't bring herself to let loose like the those around her. She even order Taurus to be cautious when repelling the enemy; enough so they won't get back up, but not so much that they outright die.

"You and I make quite the team, don't you think?" Minerva said as she blew apart a pack of goblins, shielding them both as bits flew at them.

"We are pretty good working together." Lucy replied although her stomach may have lurched a bit at the sight of a goblin hand sliding off one of Minerva's shields. "Too bad I can't do what you can."

"Don't be foolish, you most certainly can do what I can. Your conscious is what's holding you back, but I will say that's a good thing for you." Minerva knew the blonde was trying to ease her mind of the battle at hand, but sometimes a good push is what is needed. "You can be just as powerful as I am in your own way, so buck up and make sure you deliver Fiorean justice."

Some support is all Lucy was really asking for and Minerva gave her piece of mind, if only a little but it was worth something. She was doing her best for her country, but the blonde couldn't stop thinking about her friends as they fought gallantly around her. As she continued to fire arrows into the enemy ranks and help eliminate archers, she worried about Natsu and his state of mind now that they were in a life or death battle. Then there was Erza who she believed to be having the hardest time as Lucy's noticed how the owl helmed mage seemed to be questioning the red head's leadership skills at every turn. She didn't know what was that all about, but it didn't sit right with her for some reason. Although she wondered if he was being that harsh because he was a veteran who really knew how to lead troops into battles like these. Lucy would never really know until she found out for herself.

"Focus your efforts at hitting those on horseback, I believe they are fundamental units to this battle for the enemy." Minerva informed as she had taken notice how they seemed to rally their allies be mere shouts and blowing horns, an act she found quite annoying after the twelfth time.

"Leave it to me" Lucy drew her magic bow and activated a specialized spell, Piercing Scope, which allowed her to zero in on her specified target at great ranges. "One horseback rider going down"

* * *

"Move forward you cowardly lot! We will not be defeated so easily!" An Imperial captain shouted as he tried to control his horse, desperately trying to keep order while holding himself together. "This is our land and we won-"

He did not finish his sentence as a glowing arrow of light had struck him directly in the chest, knocking him off his horse with such force that the Imperial soldiers had thought a javelin launcher hit him. Many panicked at the thought that someone on the other side was that accurate with one, but it only paled in comparison when they were reminded of the streams of blue light that came at them much faster than a hail of arrows and much deadlier. Some cowered to their knees praying to the gods that the streams of light would miss them, while others dared to face the blue lights head on.

Further in the back lines, a prominent general for the Imperial army clutched his hair in desperation to figure out some way to pull victory for this ever-losing battle. Reports said that the initial force that went in to plunder the land on the other side only faced resistance by sword and shield, with the deadly addition of magic. He was given elite fighters and strong mages with him to take back the valley, but his magic users died at the opening of the battle, those that remained fell back and were tasked with healing. Melee combat was a fair fight if barely so as his troops had made progress and fell enemies as they pushed back, but it ended abruptly when the flashes of blue light began and his soldiers fell one after the other. Though terrible the outlook was, he was a renowned general who never really lost a battle and he vowed that he wouldn't be starting now.

"General, we've lost another company. I advise that we retreat now before it is too late, we aren't fighting with a full force anymore." One of his advisors claimed after receiving word from a lieutenant about the current status of the army. "This is a loss, if we do not mobilize we'll lose more of the experienced soldiers."

"We will find triumph in this battle, my reputation and that of the Empire shall not be tarnished by these invaders!" There was a lot at stake for the general, his position in society and the Emperor's favor was hanging on the fact that he recaptures the Artisian Valley and the Gate. "Continue to advance, overwhelm them with what soldiers we have left and those of the monsters as well. There is no way they'll be able to hold off a horde before fatigue sets in."

"Understood, Sir." Those near the general were weary of his strategy as the battles under his command never truly showed such casualties as they are now, so such a reckless plan contains the high chance of failure.

As for the average soldier of the Empire, they were not blind to the fact that the majority of their human allies dwindled shockingly fast as many were lost to the blue beams of light and to the more pronounce wielders of magic on the battlefield. Concerning the creatures under their control, the numbers were still vastly larger in comparison to them from what anyone could tell although uncertainty set in as those numbers weren't such great margins away from each other. A few commanders had theorized that the General may commit to pouring the remainder of their forces together for one last desperate attack, which would rally the troops enough to obtain a victory from the clutches of defeat. Once the order had been passed along to do such a thing, all soldiers prepared themselves to bring about the Underworld to these invaders.

Most of the FEF High Command had taken notice of this growing congregation of troops aiming to over run them, in what could be considered a suicide blitz, that would have been a major issue to deal with if it weren't for the fact that the vanguard had finally managed to secure enough space to allow all the MK. III's to exit the Gate. With almost all their munition primed and ready to fire as they exited the Gate in pairs, the Jupiter Cannons totaled sixteen cannons with eight lined up at the front and eight making their way towards the rear of the Gate. This was the final call as the MK. III's reconfigured from tank mode into artillery, taking aim at targeted areas to send in the crippling blow.

"Tyson, Hugo it's time for our forces to fortify themselves." Jura said as he poured magic into a small communications lacrima, comm-lac for short, and tried to connect to the vanguard commander. "Commander Scarlet, fortify the vanguard. The Jupiter Cannons are ready to fire."

"Understood, we'll hunker down for cannon fire." Came her reply as Jura changed connections over towards all sixteen cannons to put an end to this battle once and for all.

"MK. III's, final target check. Prepare to fire on my order." Jura gave them a few moments to reply once the Jupiter Cannons were locked on and once they did, the time had come. "First volley, fire!"

The vanguard had used fortifying magic on their tower shields to stabilize themselves once the shells hit their target and held themselves together as much as they could against the enemy ramming at them. They could hear the loud explosions of cannons firing and many of the troops had a chill go down their spine as they heard the whistling of falling shells passing overhead.

Then came the tremendous flash of light lighting up the battlefield as dust clouds began to rise at the impact zones, followed by shockwaves that toppled any and all those that had not prepared for them. It was deafening to hear as a near clean line of eight impacts struck deep in the enemy's back line sending what some could tell as bodies flying dozens of feet in the air. The next volley didn't lag far behind as the next eight impacts created more chaos, the enemy scrambling in futile attempts to escape and it was an unbelievable sight to see. The vanguard watched in awe from behind their tower shields as more and more of the enemy were consumed by explosions while the riflemen continued to lay down fire at any and all enemies they could spot.

In only five volleys from the Jupiter Cannons, the entire enemy force had been wiped out as meager straggles ran for their lives. Any quick shot sniper could have easily eliminated them, but all forces were to stand down by the command of Jura. The Wizard Saint stepped out in front of the vanguard, carefully stepping over the dead that fell against his forces and looked out onto the destruction they wrought upon the Empire. There was a bitter feeling within his heart to see such a thing, but he vowed to his fellow councilmen that he wouldn't show weakness during this campaign. Quickly riding himself of the solemn face he knew he was wearing, he turned to face all of Fiore's hope and threw a victorious fist into the air.

"The battle is won! This is a victory for Fiore!" Jura cried and was met with the cheers of the entirety of the FEF, who he knew were glad to have survived their first battle in the new world. "And to you, the FEF!"

"FEF! FEF! FEF!" Came the cheers as they had given the chance of delivering some of the greatest news to those back home after the events of Crocus. It would be a day long remembered in Fiorean history of the brave men and women who fought on the behalf of Firoe in search of justice, but it would only be a stepping stone in the grander movement the FEF would be involved in.

As the Imperial soldiers retreated and the night creatures ran for their lives, a small team of soldiers dressed in green camouflage began to pack up their gear as well and head back to their base. Intelligence told them that a sizable army was marching past Alnus Hill, Imperial in origin, so they were sent out for reconnaissance to discover what they were going to do. One idea was that they were trying to get around their base for a pincer attack, but it was swept away as they continued to march further south of the base. That's when they stumbled upon the Empire's meeting point and had become privy to the introduction of a new group of individuals and the fire power they possessed in this battle, some of the green camo wearing soldiers wondered what this meant.

They had no real answer to give for what they just saw, but one thing they do know was that they were now far from being the only Gate in the region.

* * *

Far from all this combat, Lelei shot up from her bed with a start as the radiance of powerful magic could be felt in droves. She looked around her room to find the blue furred cat she picked up a few weeks ago standing with his paws against the window, a look of pensive wonder on his face as stared out into the night. There was much the young magic user wanted to ask him, though she had a hard time communicating with the blue feline. Luckily from what little they could get through from their language barrier, she had learned its name for the most part and could understand certain non-verbal cues.

 _"Happy..."_ Lelei's accent was very strong as she said his name, but the blue furred cat knew what she meant and nodded his head as he turned to look at her.

Happy had sensed it first and the closer he got to the window the more he could feel it, so it went without saying that this overflow of powerful magic had woken up Lelei too. There was no doubt in the Exceed's mind that something major involving all of that magic was happening some ways away from them, but he couldn't help have the strangest feeling of knowing Natsu was there. That's all he needed to keep his hopes up, if his best friend was here in this world then that meant he can get home again. He was thankful to Lelei for rescuing him though he really wanted to get back to Fairy Tail, back to his friends since he's had enough of this "adventure" to last him a lifetime.

"I'm here waiting for you, Natsu..."

* * *

 **A/N:** _Quick few notes I'd like to add; one, I'm not very great at battle scenes so if you think it was a bit lack luster, sorry Xp. Secondly, to give an idea of what the magic weapons look like, think of an M240 Bravo for the Hammers and an A280c for the rifles (without the scopes). One's a real life weapon and the other is a Star Wars rifle, got to get a blend in there you know? Lastly, thanks for dealing with my **long** update periods, still working on fixing that, and for reading this chapter. We're in the new world everyone and that means we'll be meeting some new friends (and enemies) soon!_


	9. The New World Pt II

The New World Pt. II

Four days have passed since the assault on the Gate, Fiore's first great victory against the Empire that took away their people. Though that victory was short lived for the soldiers as they had to pick through what remained of the enemy's forces for anyone that had somehow survived the carnage. More often than not, troops would return with nothing in tow aside from some "mementoes" although there was the occasional squad that had a live prisoner. Many had gone as white as sheets once they were dragged back to base, some trying to kill themselves before it was too late although none of them ever succeeded.

Erza on one patrol had found a young soldier buried beneath a pile of his dead comrades, although she held him up at arm's length as he smelled of fecal matter and may have wet himself once he had realized who had found him. Many thoughts of self-shame came to his mind that he did such a thing, but the soldiers didn't hold it against him as he wasn't the first soldier they found in such a state. He was just the only one who wasn't crying out for his mother and begging everyone to let him go, or reaching for anyone's weapons.

Though these searches were not only for enemy survivors, but for those Fiorean lives that were not accounted for and were successfully found. Sadly, they were all killed in action and a brief ceremony was held before the bodies had to be transported back to Fiore. The troops bade farewell to their fallen comrades, but it was their commanding officers that were having the larger reactions to what happened. Many could hear the arguing coming from the command center, though muffled the voices, they knew it was best to let them sort it out amongst themselves and avoid trying to get an exact understanding of the conversation.

"We lost two hundred soldiers and nineteen Rune Knights in that battle, this would have never happened if the Vanguard had done its job properly!" Hugo exclaimed towards Jura as he saw firsthand what situation Commander Scarlet's forces were in and how she failed to correctly gain defendable ground. "I lost good people trying to help them defend the line before the reinforcements arrived."

"We had the area under controlled, their use of setting up their archers before the battle was their advantage during the fight. We were thrusted into the battle as soon as we exited the Gate." Erza replied evenly, but she was getting quite riled up at the jabs at her. "Could we have changed the tide of the battle earlier on? Yes, we could have if I wasn't short one man with the greatest defensive abilities I know."

"Whether you had him in battle or not shouldn't hinder you from still meeting the enemy head on and gaining more ground. You lacked adaptability when it came to the prolonged engagement and lost great traction because of it." Hugo replied that was one gripe he had of the armored woman as she didn't adapt to her enemy's tactics efficiently. "You kept closed ranks in the initial stages of the fight, but began to spread the line to avoid being flanked and lost the core of your fighting power. Leaving you on the defensive."

"I felt it was best to hold a definitive line so that we could advance through the enemy once the archers were dealt with. I will admit that I didn't have many long-range attackers at my side to even the playing field."

"Tactics aren't your strong suit Commander Scarlet since your fighting style is very different when compared to leading soldiers. You fight alongside power houses that would just as easily destroy an entire city block as they would squads of enemies. You're a front line fighter, not a bona fide leader."

"I'll have you kno-"

"Enough!" Jura boomed as the arguing was growing out of hand and even he had to file his reports for the Queen and about their recent losses. "Intelligence gave us everything they could gather and how the two of you used that information is on you. Learn from this mistake so that it doesn't happen again, Commander Scarlet."

"Understood, Sir!"

"Good, you're dismissed." Jura simply said and Erza bowed slightly and left, but the silence of his office hardly lasted a second before an audible click of a tongue was heard. "Is something still upsetting you Field Commander?"

"These anarchic mages in command of an entire division is not right, Supreme Commander. They have no discipline nor any true experience leading others, they fight as separate entities rather than as one powerful unit." Hugo preferred order and stability that could be commanded effectively into becoming a powerful sword or an impenetrable shield.

"True, they are quite unpredictable but they've fought against forces far beyond what any other group of mages have ever faced and came out on top. Erza will need some time, but she will become a fitting leader for her Special Forces."

"I'll believe it when I see it, Sir. I suggest they be used for other tasks while we focus on expanding the base and gaining control of the area." Hugo would prefer that the lawless mages be out of the way so the more serious professionals can accomplish their objectives. "With enough land under our control, we should be able to house all we need and begin rescuing the civilians."

"That sounds like a reasonable course of action, however we need to focus on gaining more information of the region. How the government functions here, what do the people believe in and who exactly inhabit the Special Region aside from those monsters and humans." Jura pulled out a map of the Special Region and examined the various areas that surround their valley.

"You feel it best to have our volunteers "out of the way," so I'll heed your request by making them our reconnaissance units for now. They'll scout out into the nearby villages and try to make contact with them, we can learn something from the locals and with their charisma it'll be of no problem to them." Jura suggested and Hugo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It would help expand what knowledge we don't already have so we understand our enemy and new territory."

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan, one I do believe Colonel Shiverpeak can lead rather easily."

"Good suggestion, however I'll be using Commander Scarlet to take charge of this endeavor."

"You're allowing that woman to lead our recon forces for a matter like this!? Are you sure it's the best course of action, Sir?"

"You did claim that we should have them do something that is a bit out of the way for the rest of our operations, correct?" It is true what he just said, but Jura wanted better representatives for the FEF than regular soldiers and Rune Knights. "We need the people on our side for this operation, it'll make moving throughout the land much simpler if we do just that."

"You're right Supreme Commander, avoiding animosity with the people of the Special Region can give us access to newer opportunities." Hugo understood the feeling of having the people against you, being a Rune Knight didn't garner good attention when he first started, but the changes of recent have changed that.

"Should I inform Communications about the Special Forces' new orders?" It wasn't an easy pill to swallow, but if it meant that Scarlet would be busy with other affairs rather than troop tactics, Hugo would accept that.

"I'll handle that myself once I finish going through the details critically, but for now I want you to head on towards the cells and interrogate our new prisoners. They are our only current source of information at the moment."

"By your command, Supreme Commander." Hugo saluted and made his way for the door, but Jura stopped him for one last announcement.

"Before you go, inform everyone that the ambassador from Alvarez will be coming soon and be prepared to adhere to any command she gives. A messenger from the Queen informed me that she'll need our utmost cooperation for this visit." The Second Wave was marching in for the remainder of the week, but even Jura hadn't come to the thought that a VIP would be coming alongside them.

"Understood, Sir." Hugo saluted once more and exited Jura's office although he was troubled at how quickly the ambassador was wanting to come. _"What purpose does she have coming so early, checking on our progress, her troops perhaps?"_

* * *

"Honestly, that man doesn't sit right with me. It's as if he doesn't even believe I should even be here." Erza huffed beside Lucy who had found her as she was walking aimlessly around the base for some time.

"To be fair Erza, none of us should even be here. We kind of volunteered to help out the army and it sort of fell unto you to become our leader." Lucy wanted to keep her stance neutral between Erza and the field commander she wasn't getting along with. "That guy's more of a military man, so he might have some pride in the effort he put into getting his position over you just getting it by order of the Queen."

"That's a form of pride I can respect, one coming from knowing all the hard work you've done has accomplished a great feat. What bothers me is that he wishes to belittle what progress I do during combat and how I lead our unit."

"Is he belittling you or that's how you feel about your interactions? Maybe it's a form of tuff love he's showing, trying to make you into a better leader." Lucy has heard and met people who are hard on others for a reason, Gray actually falls a bit in that category if only by her own experiences.

"You're giving him the benefit of the doubt, but if you believe it to be so then I'll hold off judgement until he and I speak more." In truth, it was how she felt about Hugo's words to her but Lucy could be right about him merely trying to get her to grow as a leader.

"Some things take time, but I will admit that I could be wrong. No one's one hundred percent right, so keep that in mind." Lucy had gotten better in knowing how to limit herself, better to be safe than sorry even if she knows a few people that don't care to follow that method.

"In any case, how's Natsu doing? I haven't heard him yelling or getting into fights yet." Erza had to keep tabs on the dragon slayer as his temper, mainly his entire personality hardly let him stand still without becoming bored beyond belief.

"He went off with Gajeel to do some training." Lucy replied and Erza gave a questioning look since Natsu wasn't one to ask for help in training from Gajeel. "Well more like trying to blow off some steam. He didn't take it too well when he watched the coffins head back across the Gate."

"Hmm, he needs the outlet since his behavior has changed greatly since the attack on the capital." It was why she decided to volunteer alongside him, Natsu was unpredictable so it was best if she looked after him. "We need to keep him in check, we can't afford to have him go wild in crucial moments."

"Don't worry Erza, we're all watching out for him although it would help if the rest of Fairy Tail was here with us." The blonde could count on the guild to keep Natsu on the right path but it's more of a challenge with just them. "At least he isn't butting heads with Gray, else there would be more work for us."

"Aside from that saving grace, I had hoped Gray hadn't been left behind before the battle. As far as I know, he's been at the capital for some time but hasn't crossed the Gate yet." She heard her friend's complaint of getting involved in this fight, but she truly wondered why he wouldn't come to their aid.

"Do you think he decided to quit before deployment and just help with rebuilding the city?" Gray was an enigma at most times, but Lucy had noticed his great discomfort with what happened and could only guess at the thoughts whirling around his mind because of it.

"Gray isn't one to quit so readily, I think they held him back for some reason or there weren't any more transports for him to board in the rear-guard." The ice mage was another person who began to behave oddly, but because of his lonesome demeanor it was much more difficult to understand why that was.

"Possibly... Oh, speaking about the Gate. Did you get word yet? Brandish is making a visit to the base, she should be here soon." Lucy was somewhat glad to see her again, they spoke on and off again when the opportunity came but it's been much more difficult with everything that has happened.

"I have and all I can say is that we need to be prepared for anything. You know her behavior better than I do, so you must know something about her that warrants caution." Lucy's spoken on how they've been speaking to each other much more recently, so Erza's hoping for anything that could help her interaction with her.

"Well, all I can really say is that she acknowledges those who know their place and her mood tends to change pretty quickly based on who talks to her. Any advice I have for you is to keep level with her, she knows she's powerful so she can afford to be aloof with people." Brandish can be a terrifying woman and they all knew what she's capable of first hand.

"Maybe it'll be easier than handling Natsu." Erza joked to ease Lucy, no doubt that the blonde was worrying about her and appreciated her non-verbal concern.

"Yeah, maybe..."

Their conversation would've continued if it weren't for the soldiers moving as fast as they could towards the Gate entrance. Others were hauling away equipment to create a rather large clearing, but what the pair didn't see was the fact that it stretched on and was nearly half of their base's length. Lucy and Erza watched the commotion unfold until three Rhinos emerged from the Gate and a short procession of Alvarez soldiers lined the sides of the lead Rhino. Both Fairy Tailers joked about the welcoming party for Brandish until they saw who was driving the lead Rhino she was riding in.

Gray hopped off the driver's side clad in a dark gray armor chest plate, a pauldron on each shoulder that had one marked with the Firoean symbol and the other with Fairy Tail's insignia. Lucy could make out the Special Forces uniform underneath it, but his arms were covered by black armored gloves that covered most of his forearm and shared a similar design with the greaves he wore over his boots. The lower half of his long coat billowed with the wind alongside the dark blue cape he wore as he opened the door and offered his hand to Brandish.

The scantily clad woman took his hand, almost daintily, and stepped off the Rhino with a surveying eye as she made her way through the rows of her men with Gray not far behind. She examined everyone with a keen eye and Erza could almost hear the minor nervous tinkling of armor as the green haired woman walked past soldiers before turning to look at Gray.

"I can handle myself from here, Gray. I'll settle with business in the Baldie's office and look for you after, got it?" She said towards the dark-haired mage and the ice mage nodded his head as he gave her a folder the others hadn't noticed him have before.

"Understood, Lady Brandish." Gray replied and the green-haired woman almost seemed to smile before she transformed it into a satisfied smirk.

Brandish walked off with the folder in tow and Gray let out a tired sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, glad that he had some time before she came back and watched as all the Alvarez soldiers dispersed. As all the armor gave way, he noticed a certain duo he had hadn't seen in what felt like a long time.

"Glad to see you both in one piece." Gray greeted as Lucy and Erza drew closer although the red head was giving him some angry vibes. "Sorry for missing the opening act."

"Sorry isn't going to cover the fact that I didn't have a crucial part of my strategy for the battle, you should have let us know ahead of time if you got held up." As much as Erza was wanting to berate Gray, deep down she was glad that he was still with them in their rescue operation.

"I would've been here much earlier, but a lot got placed onto me since none of you guys were around. You should've planned for the unexpected and found a way to overcome my absence because that's something that tends to happen a lot to us." Gray almost bit back much harder if he hadn't held himself back as this was partially his fault for not saying anything prior to leaving the capital.

"Now, now we shouldn't be getting worked up here. Look Erza, Gray's here now so what's done is done and now that we're all together that means we are now Fiore's strongest team..er squad I should say." Gray sighed once again, but he knew that he could leave it to Lucy to try and diffuse the situation before it even gets the chance to start.

"Anyways, I'm wanting to know what's up between you and Brandish plus this armor you're wearing. You don't even wear much of anything, less to the fact of armor." Lucy couldn't recall a single time the ice mage ever really interacted with Brandish before so this is pretty much a huge surprise to see them together like that.

"You're looking at the Ambassador's personal honor guard, anytime she makes her way to the Special Region I'll be in charge of protecting her unless she says so otherwise." Gray rubbed his eyes and the two women could tell it wasn't the most glamorous position to have. "I can tolerate it so far, plus she isn't treating me like a butler for her personal use although it gets tiring to be the center of her attention."

"Oh, does someone have a crush on our ice mage?" Lucy said suggestively and Erza quietly snorted at the idea.

"Ha ha, very funny. It's nowhere even remotely like that, she's always testing me to figure out what would set me off and she knows I can't do much about it." Gray couldn't understand if it was all a game to her or if she is truly curious. "I won't crack easily, but Brandish has made it almost a hobby to try and rile me up."

"At least she's only doing visits, so you can have your freedom back soon. Besides, I doubt she'd want to stay in the Special Region." Sure, they've only seen as far as the eye could see, but Lucy much preferred Fiore over a new world any day.

"Thanks Luce, you just jinxed me..." Gray wasn't much a believer of this type of superstition, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it would happen and Brandish would stay.

"I'm sorry!" Too much weirdness made Lucy believe that anything can and will happen, so she honestly believed that she harmed Gray's fate.

"Don't worry so much about it, you'll be fine. Now you have to answer Lucy as to why you're wearing armor." Erza spoke up, trying to get the conversation to go on and her minor curiosity towards the armor he donned.

"I thought it was obvious, I'm an honor guard which means that I've got to apparently dress the part. The design and layout of what they gave me hits home a bit too hard, but I hardly got the time to mull it over." When he first saw himself in the mirror when they delivered his armor, he could almost see a transparent vignette of his father when they first met face to face behind him. "Talk about full circle, but what could I do about it?"

"You sure it doesn't bother you?" Lucy could take a pretty accurate guess as to what Gray meant by it, but even he must find it unsettling just a bit.

"Brandish told me all she really knew and sure, this is a pretty dick move but you can't imagine how oblivious they are to subtlety." Gray learned about their spies in Tartaros to help Bloodman became the ultimate Etherious so there was no doubt about seeing Silver's appearance and discovering his origins. "I had nearly a week to get over the initial anger I had about the armor and now I just try not to think about it."

"Speaking about your week, what held you back for so long? You said so yourself that you would have joined us for the battle alongside the main force, but you couldn't do so." This is something Erza wanted to know since it would give her piece of mind about what happened to her friend.

"I can explain that to you, since I have the clearance to do so and whatever." Came the almost bored tone of Brandish as she strode over towards the three Fairy Tailers.

"Lady Brandish, I can assume you have need of me." Gray said stiffly, obviously not a major fan of speaking in an eloquent manner.

"You can relax Gray, you can talk however you please with everyone else. Just be professional when I'm dealing with those stuffy windbags and their political junk or meeting with your Queen." Gray had the urge to roll his eyes in annoyance, but he resisted it with great control. "Gray here was a helpful addition to a simple training experiment my people wanted to conduct."

"What kind of experiment?" Erza was getting quite the odd feeling about it, but stilled herself from appearing concerned with how the green haired woman would answer.

"An intense boot camp that's filled with the delightful fun of powerful magic hurled at him by yours truly, situational awareness training, advanced tactical operations and specialized combat lessons from high ranking officers that came in just before the first day." Brandish smiled playfully at Gray who slightly cringed at the memories he had of the so-called "boot camp" that Brandish oversaw. "He did fine for the most part, not the best of his class but he passed marginally better than most of our people."

"Why did you use Gray for this experiment? Also, what kind of boot camp is that!?" Lucy couldn't believe that was a boot camp, much less a simple experiment that needed quick testing.

"To be honest, he wasn't out first choice to be us-...er asked to do this experiment. Erza was at the top of the list, followed by Big Blonde, then Pinkie, then Metal Guy and finally him." Brandish knew the ice mage was in the top ten choices, closer to ten, but most of the list wasn't available to use. "Of course, most of the people on the list were fighting here and Gray became the most acceptable candidate."

"Nice to know I made fifth on the list." Gray sarcastically remarked, but he was unaware that he ranked 8th on the list so it made it much funnier for Brandish to imagine his face when he finds out where he really placed.

"Come now Gray, I know you're being such a sourpuss because you kept fumbling some of the exercises and had to do the extra training more than the other candidates." Erza and Lucy looked confusedly at the green haired woman who was waiting to see Gray squirm, even if just a little, at the mention of the extra training. "He had to do a set of exercises to make up for his failures."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"Under increased gravity."

"Why!?"

"To teach him not to fail again, obviously Lucy. Too bad the lessons hardly stuck, he did those often and needed plenty of healing the next day to get through the exercises." Lucy was slowly growing suspicious of Brandish's hobbies, she was reaching a very close threshold of being a sadist, but she really didn't want to judge a friend like that. "You've got a strong will, that's for sure Gray."

"So far you've only explained what he had to do for this experiment, but haven't said what exactly it is." Erza had to restrain herself after what she said, remembering Lucy's advice and allowed herself to calm down.

"I said I'd explain what he did for the week, I never said I'd tell you what he was needed for." Brandish answered, exposing the loophole within her statement and Erza couldn't believe she hadn't noticed the blaring sign in front of her. "You think I'd tell you what my people are up to? Only your Queen is privy to this information, so is Gray since he participated in it."

"Seriously?"

"Just kidding, it doesn't really matter if you know or not. It was a program to create commandos for this rescue operation." Lucy's eyes grew wide at her claim and Erza raised her eyebrows in surprise, turning to Gray who shrugged his shoulders. "Most of the candidates were Alvarez soldiers, but I put in a couple of words to have a bit of Fiore in the roster; although you ended up getting the one but it's one of the best."

"I thought you said he wasn't the best of his class when he was going through that terrifying training!"

"Of course, he wasn't the top of his class because I'm the very top of the class. Two of our boys took first and second with Gray taking third; feels nice being the bronze medal, huh Gray?"

"Unbelievably great, Lady Brandish." Gray just thought he was helping test out some new forms of further training for the troops, the more skilled ones anyway, so they're prepared for anything on the other side of the Gate.

"So, Gray's a commando?" Lucy asked as the title didn't feel as odd as it should considering everything, but the thought that he was trained into becoming an elite soldier in such short time didn't seem very possible. Even unrealistic if she had to be honest.

"He's got the basics down to the letter, but he's one in name only. He'd have to spend an entire year doing this course to be a true commando, otherwise he'd need to spend years training to be an elite." Brandish knew it was unfair to place Gray with the others from the start as those Alvarez candidates had years of training under their belts, so it was interesting for her to see the ice mage try and keep up. "He's got what it takes to be a spy too, but hey an elite soldier title isn't bad either."

"Well, don't I feel special." Gray joked, trying his best not to show his surprise to have somehow kept up with trainee commandos for as long as he did. "Aside from talking about me, Lady Brandish, have you already set up the aircraft reinforcements they sent you to bring over?"

"Nope"

"..."

"..."

"Shouldn't we set them up now?"

"Ugh...I **dislike** having to do so much work." She turned on her high heels and made her way towards the cleared area, flicking her finger to enlarge a case she kept in her pocket. "Gamma and Beta Squads, in front of me now!"

Her command was absolute as the named Alvarez squads lined up on either side of her, saluting to the ambassador as she looked boredly at all of them. Her next command had them extend their hands as she placed small objects in each of their palms and quickly dispersed to set locations. As gingerly as they possibly could, they lowered and placed the objects in their hands onto the floor. Once all objects were in place, they stepped back in line and off the clearing where Brandish, to everyone's gathered attention, snapped her fingers.

In an instant an entire facility of garages, a landing strip, hangers and what some guessed as a radio tower appeared to the amazement of those within the FEF who weren't aware of the green haired woman's magic. The squads moved onto the re-enlarged strip with specified destinations in mind, they repeated their actions from before and once they were out of the way, Brandish did her part again. This time several rows of vehicles were enlarged, the likes of which no one has seen before.

The first few rows had sleek black craft, they looked to be a single seating pod that contained two forward dorsal shaped fins connected to the main body with a larger pair connected closer to the tail end of the craft. Behind the rows of these pod-like craft were another type though much larger, having dual engines protruding from the tail end with long forward-facing wings at its sides. The design of this craft was enough to tell the Fairy Tailers that it was a transport type given the size. Though they were still speechless as they had never seen such things before, mainly accustomed to what they've seen in their day to day lives. They were amazed at seeing Christina for the first time, but this was on another level entirely compared to the giant bomber.

"I thought they'd be the airships you attacked Fiore with, what in the world are those?" Erza couldn't even begin to fathom how technologically advanced Alvarez was and soon Fiore, too, will have such things in their possession.

"Those were outdated bombers and troop carriers; these things were going to be a part of the invasion but required further testing." Brandish replied as she signaled towards a man in a dark gray jumpsuit who almost ran to stand before the ambassador. "He's an Alvarez mechanic who helped build and maintain these aircraft. Talk about each one to them, I can't be bothered to explain all the little details and it's best to leave it to someone familiar with it anyways."

"As you wish Lady Myu; if you can all turn towards the black sleek ones, you'll learn that they are your fighter craft. The 7th model of the Aerial and Reconnaissance Combat Interceptor aircraft, a mouthful sure enough so most of us engineers and a few pilots merely call them ARCI-7s."

"Warhawks will do then, gives them some impact for a fighter class ship." The return of Brandish the Brander (only a handful of people were aware of this nickname) said, but calling the ships Warhawks didn't sound so far off to everyone else.

"I'll inform the others of the new name as soon as I can Lady Myu." The engineer said as she gave a mere nod and he continued on from where he left off. "It's a single seater with on board magic heavy repeaters as primary weapons, heavy magic cannons as secondaries and reaches tremendous speeds. An all-around fighter, outperforming all older models and a great improvement of the last."

"Those larger gray ones are your new way of moving soldiers around the Special Region; the Aerial Transport Assault Craft most commonly known as an ATAC to us."

"I'm thinking Pelican for them or maybe Camel could work too..." How Brandish went from something reasonably in line with the fighters to calling the ATACs camels was beyond everyone present. "What do you think Gray?"

"You're asking me, Lady Brandish?" Gray had no real idea of what to say at that point, both names sounded pretty childish but he couldn't come up with anything to replace them with. "I'm sure the others here can give you an answer better than I can."

"I asked only you Gray, so answer my question." The ice mage couldn't believe the green haired woman put him on the spot and resigned himself to his fate.

"Call it the Pelican, at least it'll make more sense since it flies."

"You heard him, the transports are now Pelicans. Do you your best to get used to the new names and in no time at all, you'll just use them without thinking about it." Brandish continued and the engineer jotted it down as a side note in his head, thinking it would also be best for him to write it down in the overview checklist for the new equipment. "If you want to know more about the Warhawks and Pelicans then talk to one of the engineers, they get quite happy talking about the things they've made. Speaking of which, you're dismissed."

"Understood Lady Myu, I'll finish the rest of the safety and start checks." He bowed his head to Brandish and was off towards the FEF's new aerial division hangers.

It was mind blowing to see how far Brandish's nation has come, to have such units within their army changes the face of combat and this was only just the completed armaments. It was anyone's guess as to what else is still under development in their facilities. Gray was lost to the wonders that flight-oriented vehicles could do in battle, Erza tried her best not to let herself look unsettled with such great technology and Lucy was just glad that they were on their side now.

"The Warhawks and Pelicans all have trained pilots who came with us, so there's no need to worry about needing people to fly them." It was a problem Brandish knew she had to clarify that it was already taken care of and it was followed by an idea that popped into her mind. "We can also train some of those here to fly at least the Pelicans. Have a trained pilot teach them the ropes and the danger is very minimal since they could be flown by a single person most of the time."

Training pilots would take a large effort and the Fairy Tailers weren't even sure anyone had an aptitude to pilot something that could be as complex as a Pelican, let alone the future prospect of training people to fly a Warhawk. That would be a lot of stressed out people, not to mention the thought of anything being a vehicle renders their strongest into vomit prone whiners (at least in Natsu's case of whining). Too many endeavors to take on and they haven't even been in the Special Region for a week yet.

"But it'll take me a while to convince those windbags to agree and I can't be bothered to waste my time trying to convince those uptight killjoys to the idea. Better off being saved for another day I guess." All three Fairy Tail mages breathed in an air of relief as she managed to shoot down her own idea for the purpose that it would become annoying to deal with in time.

"With that in mind, is there anything else you're gonna be needing me for?" Gray had to ask as he wasn't one to like wearing this armor for extended periods of time and wanted a chance to really relax after Brandish's hellish boot camp.

"I've done all that I've come for except..." Brandish scanned the area until she caught sight of a group of men listening to Jura, seeming to be instructing them about something. "I need to get those guys to their stations."

Brandish walked over to the group and spoke to the Supreme Commander, about what was unclear as they were a distance away and the hangers were growing in noise that Gray's improved hearing couldn't catch their conversation. Though it didn't really matter to him because that group of men was the reason he was stuck in the armor in the first place. As for Brandish, she already finished her chat and made her way back watching as all the men dispersed in multiple directions.

"With that out of the way, I'm officially done with my visit here. I'll be back later on no doubt, so don't miss me too hard Gray."

"How will I ever cope..." Gray sarcastically remarked, internally glad that she was finally leaving and without him to boot.

"Show some restraint Gray, I haven't even left yet but that's what happens when you're a woman of my caliber. Enjoy your time here Gray and be prepared for my return, word will come before that so it'll give you enough time." Gray gave her a bow of understanding and she patted his head, much to the ice mage's annoyance as she made her way back towards her Rhino.

The same line of Alvarez soldiers that greeted her bade her farewell as her Rhino departed back to Earth Land and as the vehicle made its way into the Gate, a rumbling began that shook the ground beneath them. In a matter of moments, giants had appeared near the outermost regions of the base as they stood watching over the horizons as huge guardians.

"When did those giants get there!? I'm sure we would've seen them come out of the Gate, right?" A soldier asked as many others agreed, amazed at the massive frames of the giants that even smiled in return at all the small humans below them.

"It's obvious that Brandish helped them here, so why exactly did she agree to do it?" Erza questioned as the green haired woman was the only person she ever met that could change the entire form of a living person like that.

"No doubt it has something to do with you, huh Gray?" Lucy inquired to the ice mage who sighed tiredly, crossing his arms as he recounted how this came to be.

The ice mage told them how he had returned to the guild to find out that there was a message for the team from none other than Flare. She had come on the behalf of the giant village chief who wanted to help Fairy Tail in their time of need, stating that they hadn't completely repaid their debt for saving their lives, their village and the Eternal Flame. Then the ice mage recounted how it was up to him to inform the Queen of what was going on with the giants and how she was pleased to have their assistance although it would prove a challenge to transport them through the city and to the Gate. That's where Brandish comes in and where he gets stuck with a bothersome position.

The green haired woman agreed to help move the aircraft equipment on the grounds that the commando experiment was allowed to go through, but giants weren't a part of the deal so she refused to shrink them down to a human's height. Brandish was the one that quickly came to the conclusion that she wanted a powerful bodyguard at her side when she goes to the Special Region as the Queen would have dozens of them. Gray added a side comment of how she wished to feel important if there was someone powerful following her command. Gray spoke of the Queen's attempt to appease her request with powerful mages and knights of the castle, but Brandish refused them and chose to have Gray himself as her bodyguard.

Obviously, it was a "no" to the very idea of him having to look after Brandish, but the Queen managed to convince him that the giants' presence would be beneficial to the FEF and that they would need them. So in the end, Gray had to swallow his pride and agreed to become Brandish's honor guard if she agreed to help the giants into the Special Region. Then there was also his involvement in the commando experiment and it led up to that very moment.

"That explains your absence for the most part but don't you think there was a way for you to not have to be Brandish's attendant?" Lucy asked as there was always a way out of these kinds of situations, most of the time anyways.

"I'm an honor guard just to correct you and if there was, then I would have already tried and done it. I'll just tough it out, it isn't that problematic yet, so it'll be fine for the most part."

"At least you won't back down from this, good on you Gray. By the way, why are all the giants spread around like this?" Erza had noticed how giants were stationed in pairs at the four most main entries to the base and a lonesome one in between each of those.

"They're basically a form of sentry for the base. If it expands, then they'll be moved around accordingly." Gray clarified and aside from having superior magic and technology on their side, giants make the best intimidators so they are pretty well off in their current state.

"Correct, they will help guard the base and we shall expand in due time to correctly secure a position here in the Special Region. That also means we need to make contact with this world's inhabitants." Jura began as he made his way towards the little group, looking pleased at the towering figures around the base.

"Supreme Commander, are you saying that we're going to make contact with the people from this world?" Gray asked as it wasn't clear to him to try and make some sort of relations with the people that attacked them. "Do you think that's a good idea?"

"I understand your weariness, but the decisions of the government here may not reflect what its people would want." Wars were always political, the exception being the brief one with Alvarez as it centered over personal gain masked with political intent from years past. "To appease the people, we must show that our intentions are solely for the return of our own."

"Are you suggesting that gaining the people's favor will allow us to operate smoothly in the Special Region?" It sounded pretty solid of a plan to Erza, but she had a few reserves to the idea that it really would give them more breathing room once they are allies to those living in this world. "Will this plan really bear fruit if we go around like that?"

"No plan is truly assured to succeed without failure, but we must try. We are alone in this world, but it's worse for those taken prisoner. Any help we can get can go a long way, especially since we're technically the invaders."

"So how will we go about this plan, marching soldiers doesn't make for a peaceful introduction." Gray remarked as in any circumstance, soldiers weren't always the best thing to see coming into your hometown especially those that are foreign to what you're used to.

"Commander Scarlet will be leading a portion of her Special Forces on reconnaissance to the neighboring villages and possibly beyond if able." Jura replied as Erza stood confidently. "Your mages have a knack for coming off as welcoming so that can help with gaining people's trust that we don't mean any harm to them."

"What about the base? Is it fine for Erza to leave for this assignment and leave some of the Special Forces behind?" Lucy always thought ahead and though they were capable of making the right judgment, having such a commanding figure like her makes things go a bit smoothly amongst all of them.

"It's fine Lucy, I'll have Laxus hold down the fort while I'm gone and give me reports while we're out. He's very capable and I know he'll be ready to help us at a moment's notice." Erza had faith in Laxus as he's shown time and time again that he's ready to leap into action.

"Very well, I want all of you to be prepared in two hours. We need to move quickly as I'm afraid time will always be against us. Commander, create five squads with a maximum of four each and have them meet at the northern entrance."

"By your command, Supreme Commander." The three Fairy Tailers saluted to Jura before he gave a short nod and went back to the Command Center.

"I'll meet you guys at the entrance, I'm gonna go and get out of this damn armor."

"See you there, Gray." Lucy called out as the ice mage walked out and turned to look at Erza with a pensive stare.

"Don't worry Lucy, Jura said that the squads were at maximum four so that meant that the minimum needs to between that and one person. I'll pair Gray with someone while we take Natsu, it's best to keep those two away from each other as much as possible." The blonde accepted Erza's answer, but the armored woman could only hope this would keep arguments at bay.

* * *

The two hours had past and the squads had been created for the recon units; **Lamia Squad** was made up of Lyon, Sherry, Yuuka and Toby. **Saber Squad** consisted of Minerva, Rouge, Yukino and Froshe with **Pegasus Squad** created with Ichiya and The Trimens. The last squads were actually on debate as Natsu made it clear that A) he wasn't getting on a Rhino and B) he didn't want to team up with Gray. The ice mage shared the sentiment about Natsu and was willing to be a single man squad on a Jack Rabbit. Erza wasn't having any of that and had come to a conclusion that would make sure he had a partner.

Wendy and Carla would partner with him on the Jack Rabbit while Erza would take Lucy and Natsu with her on a Rhino. The young teen got along fine with Gray and Erza couldn't afford to give up Lucy as she could handle the pink haired slayer better than anyone else. As they were in the same guild, both squads had decided on naming each other **Fairy Squad: Red** and **Fairy Squad: Blue** respectfully. No objections came from the teaming so it had finally been decided that this would be the recon unit of the FEF, made up entirely of Special Forces.

"Now that all squads have been made, our job is to travel across the region and make contact with the people and villages scattered around. We want to make friendly ties in order to avoid dragging any more people into this conflict and have a better grasp of the Special Region. Lamia Squad will travel East, Saber Squad will head to the South, Pegasus Squad will go towards the West and we'll go North."

"Make sure to keep in contact with Communications and myself; the Rhinos are outfitted to keep communications between us intact at far distances. If a situation occurs, do your best to handle it but if it is too much than pull out and get to safety. We'll set intervals to check in with one another once we're under way, for now take some time to prepare for departure."

"Yes, Commander" The collective group said in unison as they split off soon after to speak amongst each other.

Most of the squads stayed with each other, but some people branched out to talk to their fellow mages and Erza did her best to avoid Ichya at all cost. Natsu wasn't a happy camper to the idea that Gray was taking the one person that could help his motion sickness, but his grumpy mood didn't bother Lucy much as she spoke to Yukino about the things they could see going out into the world. Sherry went on to flirt with Ren while Hibiki and Eve tried to get on Minerva's good graces though it was to no avail. Yuuka and Toby spoke between themselves although the barrier mage was keeping a watchful eye on Lyon as he went up to Fairy Tail's ice mage.

"So, you got roped into coming here and I thought you hated this sort of thing." Lyon began as Gray turned to look at him, a small smirk appearing on his face.

"Fairy Tail seems to put its nose into things it shouldn't, but what can I do about it now." Gray remarked, but Lyon gave a half hearted smile in response, knowing about his fellow pupil's true feelings.

"How you holding up? It's been a while since the last time I asked." Lyon worried for Gray as he's slowly becoming a recluse to not only him, but to the rest of his friends as well. Even if they haven't noticed it yet.

"I could be better, just got reminded of how much of an asshole I am not too long ago." Gajeel's words still rang true to Gray and he just couldn't shake off the pure hatred the iron dragon slayer showed to him. It was too genuine to be just a "heat of the moment" kind of thing.

"It had to do with her, didn't it?"

"She's the most recent, so yes."

"I'm here if you need to talk, you know? You're the last thing I have to family that isn't part of my guild, so look for me when you need it." Being mushy wasn't something either mage really felt comfortable doing, but Lyon would swallow his pride to make that message clear to the dark-haired ice mage.

"I'll keep that in mind, it might help clear my mind before the atmosphere becomes much darker." Gray never really spoke about Zero to anyone, but Lyon had an inclination about the way the ice mage becomes when things become dire.

"Better keep your word."

"I will, now let's gear up. Looks like we're moving out soon."

Ever since the funeral, the two have grown apart to a degree and neither really knew how to change it or what to say that wouldn't make the problem worse. That's what Gray would like to believe, but it was actually this unfounded fear he developed that was the reason he kept Lyon at arm's length. He worried that one day, the white-haired man would share a similar fate like his other loved ones and he wanted to save him from that fate. It was self-destructive but after all that has happened in his past, Gray worried that it would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Unfounded fear gripped at him tightly, but he tried his best to clear his mind and focus at the task at hand.

Natsu looked on with a mildly curious eye though his attention was torn away as Jura came before them, Tyson and Alexis at his sides.

"I'm positive the Commander has already briefed you on your mission, so let me remind you that your actions will reflect the rest of us. We are coming into this in force, but if there is a peaceful way to settle this than we can try that route. The people can help us and vice versa, so do what you all do best and make the FEF proud." Jura concluded as all the squads saluted to him and began to board their Rhinos and Jack Rabbit in Blue Squad's case.

"My scouts say you've got a clear road ahead of you, you'll be alright until the base is no bigger than your thumb." Alexis said as she and her team dealt with any lingering enemies that tried to stay under the radar and just far enough that the guns can't reach.

"And don't be shy if ya be needn' some help out there. Call in and we'll be along to save the day and your hide." Tyson grinned, personally hoping to get out into the world and get some more action before he was stuck doing a desk job at the base.

"Understood, we'll be counting on you if anything occurs." Erza replied and the trio gave bade them farewell and a successful mission.

With one final check in with Communications, all squads moved out into the unknown world before them and to what wonders lie in wait for them. Gray waved a two-finger goodbye as he sped up in front of Erza's Rhino and rode on to whatever was in store for them. As he passed the lumbering vehicle, the ice mage rolled his eyes at the sight of Natsu yelling at him as he stuck his head out of the Rhinos window over how much faster he was going than them. The pink haired slayer still wouldn't change even when they were in this situation and Gray revved up the engine before he sped off once again, while Wendy held tightly to him and Carla to her.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Sorry that it's been a while, but I'm back and I'll keep this story going as far as I can go. Just a little note to help visualize the FEF's new aircraft; the Warhawks resemble the Batmobile from Batman Beyond. A pretty cool design in my opinion and the Pelicans are like U-wings from Rogue One just with dual engines, the "wings" are in the locked positions mainly and are shorter. They act like they do in the film, just powered by magic and can't travel through space. I won't give up on this fic although I'm unsure if I should continue making the chapters the same length or shorten them to update more often. If you have a preference please feel free to tell me._

 _With that said, I'll see you all in the next chapter._


	10. The New World Pt III

The New World Pt. III

"We're still moving northwest from last rendezvous point, we'll be keeping you posted with anything new Erza. Blue Squad out." Gray relayed as he finished his check in that Erza had placed for him, starting up the Jack Rabbit as Wendy and Carla climbed on.

 _"Understood and remember to address me as Commander Scarlet next time, alright Gray?"_ Erza replied and the ice mage rolled his eyes in turn as he turned off the comm-lac.

"How far do you think the next village is Gray?" Wendy had kept tabs on the distances of each of the villages they've come across and most had a relative distance of a few miles.

"About the same distance as the last one if anything, hopefully this one isn't razed into the ground yet." Ever since they started this mission, all teams had reported to have found the remnants of villages that were burned to the ground. "Whatever happened to them doesn't sit right with me."

"What do you mean?" Carla had an idea to what the ice mage was alluding to, but she wanted to confirm it for herself.

"If it were a creature doing all of this, the damage wouldn't be so well contained to just the villages and their main resources. This was done intentionally and I'm having a hard time believing that the villagers would set their own homes on fire." The ice mage knew someone was behind this, but he wasn't sure how far they'd go to slow them down.

"Do you think this is a plan to try and get to us?"

"Most likely in an attempt to stop us from resupplying, which is stupid considering that we have a steady supply line from the Gate." It would be obvious to anyone that having a gate that connects back home would only benefit them.

"So all this razing is just kicking people out of their homes and destroying them?" Wendy couldn't believe how low their enemy would stoop to try and have an advantage against them.

"Pretty much and I'm sure whoever thought that this was a great idea thinks it's actually working."

The trio rode on in silence and made it their priority to stay off the main roads as Imperial troops would still be lingering about the routes. They wouldn't pose much of a problem to them if they did have a confrontation, but it was always best to avoid unneeded combat whenever possible. It made the job much easier when you're not fighting for your life every so often.

Wendy and Carla took the time to admire the clear blue sky above them and would've wanted to enjoy what this world was like if they weren't in the process of rescuing innocent people. Gray on the other hand kept his focus to what was in front of him, if only to stave off the lumbering sense of death he could feel emanate from a region west of them. It nagged at his mind and Zero would hum at the negative energy, but they both slowly droned away as the flat grasslands and hills gave way to trees and mountainous cliffs.

"If I may, now that it's just us, care to explain why you and Natsu are greatly at odds?" Carla had decided that now was better than ever to strike up this conversation, especially as it was a prime subject amongst the others who had caught them butting heads.

"The idiot and I haven't really shared the same views ever since we met each other. I don't think much has changed."

"You know what I mean, there is more here than what you're letting on. Natsu is easier to understand because of his personality whereas you make it difficult on purpose." Carla watched as Gray gave a minor glance behind him before turning back to look ahead.

"I've got my reasons, I want to avoid putting myself in positions I know nothing good will come from them."

"But sometimes we need to face it head on, we can't avoid things forever." Wendy chimed in this time and Gray was actually taken aback by her words for a second.

"That is true, like you accepting that you can't save everyone. No matter how hard you try." Carla was about to argue in defense of Wendy as he belittled her struggle, but the teen stopped her.

"Just like that and sometimes you need to take them to save many more." Wendy could tell that Gray wasn't being mean spirited, she could sense that he was empathizing with her struggle. "Gajeel told me as much and I think it's helped me grow stronger."

"I'd bet he did, the guy's got a knack for telling it how it is." The iron dragon slayer was insightful if anything else, so he could understand the shift in Wendy's behavior over her old indecisive self. "My problems on the other hand are for the sake of who I am."

Wendy wished to know what he meant by that, but found it best to let it go and try to appease Carla who was still miffed with Gray's earlier remark. Pretty soon Blue Squad had found themselves in a forested area and followed the only trail they could see, which was lucky for them as they hadn't been able to find the main road ever since the trees grew in greater number. The trail led them through a grove that soon paralleled a creek, but before they went any further down the trail Gray stopped the Jack Rabbit. His two companions looked questioningly at him as he pointed towards a cottage just ahead of them, where the trail itself ends besides a waterfall.

"We've got a cottage up ahead, nothing beyond it as far as I can tell. You and Carla stay with the cycle, I'll check it and if anything happens then back me up." Gray instructed the duo as he led the Jack Rabbit behind a few trees and bushes.

Carla and Wendy nodded their heads as Gray made his is way up the trail, keeping tabs of his distance to cover and clear line of sight for the girls to watch over him. From what he could tell, it looked like a comfy home with a water well out front and it seemed that whoever lived here was leaving. A pack mule reined in to tug a wagon filled with books stood before the door, no doubt making it easier for the inhabitants to load up and as he approached, he saw a tuft of light blue hair peak slightly over the mound of books.

He drew closer, hands free in order to quickly create a form of defense and tried to see the person before they saw him. With a bit of Magic Sense, the ice mage discovered that this person had an affinity for magic and he was positive that they sensed him back as the tuft slightly shifted in two directions. Gray got close enough to see the tip of a staff and before he could see more, his stealthy movement was broken when he toppled a small pile of books. He cursed at himself for not watching where he was going and stopped moving as the light blue hair came around the wagon and Gray got a look at his "opponent".

Standing just a few inches shorter of Wendy stood a girl with bright blue eyes that just seem to exude curiosity as she took in the sight of the ice mage and tilted her head just enough to show it. She wore a dress with a blend of blue and green, her winged tipped staff in her right hand and blue boots at her feet. Gray had a light remark in his thoughts that the girl liked the color blue very much, but soon realized that they had been staring at one another for a solid minute.

"Hi there"

"Hello"

Immediately, Gray was at a bit of a loss as he had come to think that she'd have more of a reaction to give about him. Questioning who he was, how'd he got here or what he wanted. Instead it was a simple greeting in reply without another word.

"Are you by yourself, by chance?"

"No, my master is inside the home."

"Can I speak to him?

"Unlikely, he's very busy packing precious belongings at the moment. I could assist you with any matters you have."

"Straight forward, aren't ya? Well in any case, can you tell me if there are any villages nearby?

"Following this path will lead you towards a fork in the road, take the left path to arrive at Coda Village."

"Thanks for the directions, kid."

"Correction, I'm a young adult of fifteen years. Also, you won't encounter much in the way of assistance at the village."

"Okay, why is that?"

"The Green Ones came to warn the village that the Flame Dragon has been awakened and everyone is evacuating."

"That's just great, a fire dragon of all things. At least the idiot's a lot more useful now." Gray had expected as much, but if the flaming lizard was awakened then other powerful creatures must also exist in this world. "Then I guess I should get going, by the way who are the Green Ones?"

"Unsure, villagers claimed that they are strangers with black metal staves that came in metal carriages. I haven't seen what they actually look like in person." Any information was helpful to Gray and from this he could assume that these individuals must be some type of nomadic people that use green as a form of camouflage in the forests.

"Thanks again...um, I didn't get your name."

"My name is Lelei La Lalena, and what is your name?"

"My name's Gray and like I was saying, thanks again Lelei." It was best to leave it at his first name as he wasn't keen on letting a lot of people in this world know who he was.

Lelei watched as the stranger, named Gray, turned to walk down the path towards Coda Village which was odd as it would take him quite some time to do so. Aside from his means to walk to the village, he was also dressed very oddly in a type of uniform though she was unaware if the Empire had changed the dress codes for officers. He went only a few steps before she heard her master call her name from within their home.

"Lelei please help the cat carry the books, would you? He looks like he's ready to keel over." The light blue haired girl turned to look at the doorway to see her new cat companion near ready to collapse as he lugged four large books out into the open.

"Happy are you okay?" The speech barrier was still there, but the blue cat looked to be learning a decent amount of words to understand basic verbal cues and nodded to her in response.

"Gray?" Lelei looked at Happy questioningly as it was similar to the strange man's name and she followed his line of sight towards the dark-haired man.

" _Gray_?" She repeated and turned to see Happy's eyes swell with tears, the second time she's seen him do so before the unimaginable occurred.

Happy looked to have gotten his second wind as he stood up excitedly and did something Lelei had never seen any cat do in her life, aside from talking. He sprouted a pair of bird wings and took flight, all the while calling out Gray's name in joyous sobs. The oddly dressed man stopped in an instant and turned to look with an astonished face before the blue cat glomped it entirely.

"Is it really you Gray!? You found me, you guys finally found me! I'm so happy to see you, I can go home!"

"Yes, it's me Happy, nice to see you too." Gray replied, albeit muffled by the blue fur, as he tried to pry Happy off his face.

"You don't know how much I hoped that Natsu or someone would find me." Happy cried as Gray held him in his arms.

"You'll have to settle with me for now, but how'd you get to the Special Region?"

"Special Region, what's that?"

"It's a whole new world, Happy. We're not in Earth Land anymore but more importantly, tell me what happened to you after the battle."

"All I remember is Natsu telling me to look for survivors and fly them to safety." Happy scratched his head trying to dig through his memories of that fateful day. "Oh! Plus, there was this scary guy riding a small purple dragon that chased me through the sky until he stuffed me in a sack."

"That can explain how you got here, but then how did you escape?"

"I'm not really sure. The people who caught me ruffed me up while I was in the sack and threw me onto a cart. I guess I fell off it while I was knocked out and Lelei found me."

"The main thing is that you're safe and it seems your new friend is good people, that much is good to know." Gray began to pet the blue cat as he could only guess at how hard the journey was for him. "There's a lot we need to tell you, but for now we should get going."

Gray signaled towards the two hiding within the bushes and tree line, causing Happy to smile even brighter at the sight of Wendy and Carla. The teen led the Jack Rabbit over as Carla gave a warm smile to the blue Exceed, no doubt stricken with happiness and hope after coming into this world. Lelei who had been watching this unfold couldn't make sense of the metal object on wheels being brought over by a girl around her age. She was also in wonderment at the sight of another bi-peddled cat, which she could correctly assume was just like Happy.

The girl next to the white feline had caught her interest the most though, she wore a uniform distinctly familiar to Gray's if only altered for a woman to wear. Her dark blue hair was a contrast to her lighter one with her twin tails bobbing with the occasional step. What's more was the fact that the newcomers and Gray spoke in Happy's language clearly and yet, could speak her own rather fluently as well. Lelei had to wonder who were these people she had just met.

"Hey Lelei, thanks for looking after Happy. We're glad he's okay and I'm sure one person's going to be glad we found him." Gray said as he turned to face Lelei once again, the young mage bowing her head lightly in understanding as the new pair came in. "These two are Wendy and Carla, since you know about Happy then she won't be much of a surprise."

"Nice to meet you, it looks like Gray believes you to be trustworthy for us to meet." Carla said as Wendy greeted the young girl as well.

"We don't get many visitors like yourselves, I wish to keep a conversation with you going but we are short on time."

"The dragon is a threat to regular people, I should radio Erza and-"

"That damn dragon doesn't give me a moment's notice and now I have to pack all my books! If I was twenty years younger and my magic was greater, then I woul-!" The ramblings of an old man coming out of the cottage were cut short as he tripped and fell down a set of stairs onto the ground.

"It looks like you finished retrieving the last of the books Master." The new trio were already aware of Lelei being a magic user due to her aura, so it only made sense that she was under someone's tutelage. "Do not mind him, he's more composed than this."

"Oh...Hello there. I'm Kato El Allestan, elder mage and Master to young Lelei."

"Pleasantries should be held until we disembark and are in safety from the dragon. Time is precious and if you can idle around then you're wasting time, isn't that right Master?"

"Y-Yes, right you are Lelei. Forgive the short introduction, but we must leave unless we want to become food for that blasted dragon."

"Couldn't agree more, we'll follow you to the village. Maybe we can help you get to safety." Gray offered as he hopped onto the Jack Rabbit and started the lacrima engine.

"What can a youngster like yourself do against a dragon?"

"Trust me, we've been through our own fair share of deadly situations before. Besides, dragons aren't anything new." Gray replied as Wendy followed suit with Carla on her back and Happy tentatively sitting in front of Gray.

"Hubris does a person well in the right situation, knowing one's limits keeps them alive. Do well to remember that young man." Sagely advice if Kato ever thought and Gray was reminded of Gramps for a second there as it did sound like something the old guild master would say. "Now let us be on our way!"

Lelei snapped the reins for the mule to get going, but after tugging to go forward for a few seconds did it stop in its place. Gray looked back at Wendy with a puzzled expression as the teen merely shrugged her shoulders and the ice mage took notice of how the rear wheels were submerged into the dirt. They overloaded the cart.

"We aren't moving..."

"I believe we're overloaded Master, you did want all of your books on the cart."

"I guess I did, but it's nothing a little magic can't fix. We are wizards after all."

"Magic is the world's most sacred thing, it should never be used for trivial matters. You said something to that effect to me earlier for punishing your lewd thoughts about my sister. These were your words if I remember."

"Yes...well..."

"It's fine in this case, we're out of options to use anyway." Lelei picked up her staff and swung it forward, releasing her magic to engulf the cart in a teal light as it levitated slightly off the ground and the mule began to move them forward.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, I've gotten used to it."

Gray could only chuckle to himself at their interactions as he followed behind him, feeling a sense of nostalgia at the way the master and student spoke to each other. He allowed the feeling to pass and began to explain the events after the battle in the capital and Fairy Tail's new role in the FEF to Happy who couldn't believe it all. He made the comment of knowing that they were here by the powerful and familiar magic he felt towards the south, where Wendy had chimed in to say that that was where they were based at. Happy made his way to the back so that he, Carla and Wendy could continue their conversation and the ice mage took this time to notify Erza of the recent development.

"This is Blue Squad, calling in to Commander Scarlet, you read me?"

 _"I hear you Blue Squad, anything to report?"_

"We're on our way to make contact with an evacuating village, looks like troubles on the rise here. I need you to keep in close range to my squad, the idiot might come in handy."

 _"Clarify for me Gray, why is Natsu going to be useful?"_

"We've got information that a fire dragon has been awakened in the vicinity, my squad will travel with the evacuating village for their protection and hopefully a lead to a settlement that offers better protection." There was a pause of silence on the other end before Erza's voice came through once again.

 _"Very well, I'll make sure to stay a relative fifteen minutes away if you need us. We're moving into position now and avoid showing off any remarkable skills. Simply put, avoid using your slayer abilities Gray. We don't want information about us leaking out into the world while we're still trying to learn it."_

"I'll keep that in mind, Blue Squad out."

As Gray drove the cycle, he took the time to appreciate the nature of this world to find some ounce of peace over thinking about his mission. He let the conversation behind him drone out of existence and watched the slight bickering that was happening between Lelei and her Master, hoping that his concerns weren't going to be that big of a deal.

As for the two in front, Lelei humored her tantrum prone master with simple words and replies, but her curious mind couldn't stop thinking about the vehicle Gray and the others were riding on. It moved like a carriage on just two wheels, but it wasn't being pulled by anything to get it along. Not to mention how it roared to life like a wild beast and would keep a steady hum as it followed behind them. Theses strangers were vastly different from any person she's ever come across and it went for the magic she felt from them as well.

* * *

The group had finally arrived at the tail end of the caravan that would be evacuating Coda Village, though they had taken into account that they weren't moving for some time. Kato made the obvious remark about it, while Gray and Wendy had taken notice of a different scent lingering about. This one in particular was vastly different from any of the ones they smelled from the Special Region and pinpointed it towards the front of the caravan.

"Master Kato, Lelei the road is being blocked by a carriage that's broken down. Someone had overloaded it and snapped their axel." A villager had come to inform the two of the current situations and Lelei had overheard a strange language and caught sight of one of the Green Ones.

Gray saw them too and could easily make them out as soldiers, the basic shape of the supposed "staves" they had were clearly guns, so all that was left to figure out was who were these people? He watched as Lelei hopped off her cart and decided it was best to follow her, maybe he could figure something out for himself if he went along.

"Carla and Happy, watch over the cycle and guard it. Wendy, you're with me." Gray ordered as he got off the Jack Rabbit and trailed after Lelei with Wendy right behind him.

Gray had finally come across the wizard girl as she kneeled before a little girl breathing heavily, judging her to be greatly injured. He heard Lelei mumble "life threatening injury' and nodded to Wendy to help the poor girl and as she kneeled down to help, one of the different scented people joined in. It was a woman who had dark hair and a blue ribbon in it and she examined the child with a keen eye, checking her vitals and coming to a conclusion.

"It looks like she's sustained a concussion with the possibility of fractured ribs." Her speech was somewhat broken, but they got the gist of it and Wendy was already prepping her magic to heal her wounds.

Lelei on the other hand was mesmerized by the woman's ability to discover what exactly were her injuries so quickly and hadn't expected a female soldier to also be a healer.

"You're a healer?" She couldn't help herself, but to say it out loud, ignoring what another one of the green soldiers was asking of her, but this in turn gave Wendy pause.

Wendy hadn't even produced her magic yet and Lelei had already figured out what she was capable of? She wasn't prepared for the girl they just met to figure out one aspect of her magic so fast, but then the world moved in slow motion. Not only for her, but for Lelei, the woman and the man as the horse that was originally pulling the cart freaked out and was about to trample all of them.

In an instant, the air around Lelei dropped in temperature to a point that it felt freezing and three loud explosions rang out. Lelei who had closed her eyes slowly opened them to see the horse frozen solid in place and near its rear hooves were three metallic pieces that had been flattened out. Lelei turned to look at how Wendy had taken all of this and noticed her staring up at Gray with a thankful expression as the dark-haired man lowered his arm. It wasn't hard for the blue haired girl to connect the dots to know Gray was responsible for freezing the horse solid, but now she was intrigued by his talent to wield the power of ice in such a way.

"Jeez, the thing was just spooked. No need to pump it full of iron if you can just calm it down, would have been a waste of a horse if you asked me." Gray said to himself as he picked up the three flattened metal pieces into his hand, looking over towards the older man who shot at it. "He was accurate, I'll give him that much for an old man."

"Hey, are you two okay?!" The woman asked worriedly as Wendy nodded in response, but Lelei was fascinated by not only the people in green, but Gray as well.

"These people... these people just saved my life." Lelei said to herself, even though the ones in green had attempted to while Gray did actually save her.

"Wendy you're in the clear, best to start healing the little girl's wounds while you can." Gray said as he went over to inspect the horse, sighing to himself when he found the three scuff marks that were left behind. "Nothing serious, just scratches."

Wendy's healing magic had actually garnered more attention than Gray thought when he looked back at her as the woman and Lelei hovered over the twin tailed girl. Watching as the girl's breathing stabilized and the more apparent bruises and scuffs she had slowly disappear. When the young dragon slayer finished, she turned to the worried mother off to the side with a caring smile on her face.

"She's all better now, she just needs to rest for a bit and will wake up in no time." The mother burst into tears of gratitude, glad that her daughter was safe from harm and thanked Wendy overtly for all she had done.

Wendy accepted the thanks, although sheepishly since the surrounding villagers were amazed at the healing capabilities of such a young girl. The dark blue haired girl also received a quick word of thanks from the soldier woman, knowing that saying more would be difficult for her. With a nod from Gray, the dragon slayer finally went back to the Jack Rabbit with a very curious Lelei following right after her.

The ice mage went about on dealing with the wild beast of burden by creating an ice lasso to rein it in and calm down the horse as soon as he unfroze it, but he was confronted by the older man who fired at the animal and two other people. A man with a carefree look about him, almost reminding Gray of Natsu and a short woman with a steel gaze in her eye just like Minerva.

"My name is Itami, this woman is Kuribayashi and the old man is Kuwahara; we want to say thank you. Kuwahara didn't know you had it under control, thought people were in danger and acted fast." The medic woman's speech was somewhat broken in Gray's ear, but this Itami person was a whole different story.

"Don't mention it, but he does have good aim and fast reflexes." Gray replied to him in the Old Fiorean language as it seemed he was trying to communicate with the people of the Special Region too.

Gray could only assume that the man translated what he said since the older one nodded his head forward in what the ice mage guessed as acknowledgement and went about his original plan. With the soldiers in green before him, Gray unfroze the wild horse and held tightly onto the lasso until he had control over it. Though difficult at the start, the ice mage managed to calm it down and saved the family a good horse, but the next problem came with the overturned carriage.

An easy enough fix as the village men used all their strength to put it back on its wheels, but with the broken axle it was just an obstruction. They didn't have the time to get it lifted and repaired as the danger was real, and the longer they stayed the more dangerous it became. Gray contemplated if he should use his ice magic to help them repair it to make things go on quicker or he should avoid using any real talent.

With a short back and forth in his mind, Gray had decided to help in the end as Erza said he shouldn't use his slayer skills but nothing about his regular magic, so he quickly propped up the carriage on ice blocks and replaced the broken axle with an ice one. He added a bit of devil slayer ice to make sure it held for a much longer period of time, best option in the long run over having to redo the spell later on. What Gray didn't really account for was the amazed faces of both the villagers and the soldiers at what he had done.

The ice mage finished his job, put his hands inside his coat pockets and made his way back to the Jack Rabbit, doing his best to ignore the occasional comment that was made about him. Even though they were mostly kind ones and at times those of "catching a young lady's fancy" which was such a dated thing to say that someone was attracted to him. Gray felt that Old Fiorean really made things sound pretty cheesy for his tastes, but what could he do about it aside from dealing with it. Though he did wonder what the soldiers were talking about in their foreign language, finding that the speech barrier was useful in their favor in this situation.

* * *

"So, Old Man, the youngster beat you to the punch in saving them, huh?" Itami joked, but Kuwahara shook his head in disagreement.

"I'm afraid not Captain, my rifle was already trained on the horse well before the young man made a move. It all happened in just seconds and I can only assume that he froze it in the instant I discharged my weapon." He's heard of individuals with lightning fast reaction times, even meeting a few in person but Kuwahara hadn't seen instantaneous freezing on a living creature like that before.

"There's also the fact that the ice he created was bullet proof, regular ice would have impact marks and that horse would be nothing more than shards on the ground." Kuribayashi had taken notice of the scratch marks on the ice when the guy went to inspect it. "I say we should be weary of him, he's affiliated with an army given the uniform so we need to be aware of his actions."

"Well done with your deductions Kuribayashi, keep it up and you'll get a promotion one of these days." Itami went on with his previous behavior, but she wasn't wrong about keeping tabs about their new charges. "We'll continue with the escort and be mindful of the more "military" affiliated newcomers, they use magic so we have no real idea what they're capable of."

"Yes, Sir"

"Captain, all the villagers are ready to evacuate and the little girl's condition is stable for travel. Awaiting your command to disembark." Itami turned to address their combat medic, Kurokawa, as she came up to the group with her report.

"Understood Sergeant and good job on helping that little girl."

"I simply diagnosed her, if you want to thank someone than you should thank the teen in the uniform. She's apparently a healer and a well-practiced one at that if she's able to heal a concussion and maybe a few broken ribs." Kurokawa was a woman of medicine and in turn what science has accomplished in this field, but magic healing out did what practical means were limited to without the proper equipment.

"Well, let's get this show on the road. Higashi take point in leading the convoy, I'll take lead once I join you at the front." Itami might as well speak with the two while they were still in the village and it wouldn't take him long to get back at the lead in the HMV at the general speed everyone else was going.

"Kurata, keep the engine running and be ready to move out when we get back."

"Yes, Captain!" Both men replied as they moved out to do their respective orders and Itami decided to take Kurokawa and Kuribayashi with him.

Itami went from carriage to carriage asking the villagers where the duo went and he was pointed towards the end of the line every time. It seemed that everyone had gotten quite the look at them both and weren't so confused about Itami's question as they were with previous ones he had. The captain was closing in to the end of the convoy, finding the duo talking with the light blue haired girl from before and waved to them as he approached.

"Hello, we came to thank you again." Itami gauged the young man's reaction as he merely nodded his head and began moving for the rear of the blue haired girl's cart. "You came in time when needed most."

"You're welcome, but you didn't need to come all the way down to say that." Gray replied, watching as Itami was making his way around Lelei's cart with Kuribayashi and the medic in tow. "We did what needed to be done."

"Still, you did it out of your own free will. Helping people needs to be acknowledged for the good deed that it is." The medic began speaking this time, Gray being thankful for the fact that her speech is much clearer than Itami's. "I'm Sergeant First Class Mari Kurokawa of the JSDF by the way and I personally wanted to thank the teenager that is with you for her diligent work on the injured girl."

"It was nothing, helping those in pain is top priority for any healer. She needed the help and I'm always willing to give it." Wendy said as she sat herself on the Jack Rabbit, knowing that Gray was letting her speak for herself when he turned to look at her. "My name's Wendy, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Kurokawa was about to continue when she had taken notice of what Wendy was sitting on, her surprise shared alongside Itami and Kuribayashi. The teenager was sitting on what was recognizably a motorcycle with an interesting design but was strictly superior, technologically wise, in comparison to anything they've seen in the Special Region that wasn't their own tech. The JSDF trio was fully aware that Wendy and her companion weren't native with the people of this region, making them assume that they were from a different country outside of the Empire's control.

"I'm Happy, nice to meet you!" Now that got a rise from the trio that was much more noticeable as they had initially ignored the blue furred cat that sat behind her until it began to talk.

"You know, you could've waited for your turn to be introduced. In any case, my name is Carla and I hope we can get along." Itami's interest came about at the sound of the white furred cat's voice and made a mental apology to Kurata that his dreams of the Special Region's cat girls were literal cats.

"Since everyone's introduced themselves, that just leaves me. The name's Gray and like Carla said, I hope we don't have any problems." The ice mage had made sure that Wendy only use her first name for the time being, best to hold some things back for personal safety.

"So, Gray, what are you two doing out here? It's a bit dangerous for young teens like yourselves to be roaming about." Kuribayashi questioned, finding that Gray's attitude might clash with hers if he kept it up. "Even if you can use magic or whatever it is that you do."

"For starters, I'm twenty-three and it's personal business. We heard these people are in danger from a dragon and decided to help them as a detour." Kuribayashi had the stern gaze of Minerva, but a close attitude like Erza and Gray wondered how well the two would get along.

"So, you think you two can deal with a beast like a fire dragon on your own?" Kuribayashi didn't know whether Gray was being boastful or downright reckless, but she knew that it could put Wendy in danger.

"Trust me, we've both been through a lot. I know we can handle our own." Itami couldn't help but chuckle nervously at the two; Kuribayashi's flaming temperament was a polar opposite to Gray's cool demeanor.

"Now, now you two it's all fine. Kuribayashi's just worried and Gray, I can tell that you have faith that there isn't anything to worry about. So let's just leave it at that, right?" Itami tried to settle things as the last thing he wanted was an argument breaking out when they just wanted to say thanks.

"Understood, Captain" The ice mage couldn't help but roll his eyes at the woman's reaction, now finding an all too familiar personality shared between her and another hot head he knew.

"Well, I guess we should start heading out then. Hopefully we can get the chance to speak some more when evacuating everyone's over with."

"We'll see"

With that simple reply by Gray, the JSDF trio excused themselves and the caravan began its long trek to safer lands. The hours drew on from the first day of the journey, Gray already informing Erza about these "JSDF" individuals and their current status of setting up camp for the night as he heard all the other squads report in for the last briefing of the day. When it was over, Gray returned to the camp they decided to share with Lelei and her maser by the request of Happy who trusted the teenage wizard. Wendy found herself in quite the conversation with the blue haired wizard before lights out and the ice mage looked out onto the night sky, illuminated by this world's vast stars and guessed as to what the next day would bring.

"Hey mister, do you do magic with ice like Master Kato and Lelei?" Gray turned to look at a group of kids that wanted to meet one of the strangers that came to their village.

"I sure do, but it's nothing special." The innocence of children always had a soft spot with Gray and he knew that the Empire was different as a whole when compared to the people it ruled over.

"Why do you say that? Momma says that magic is special and you need to have talent to use it." A boy said as he tilted his head in confusion since not a lot of people knew how to use magic.

"In that case, I don't see it special unless I'm using it to help people." It was best for these kids to still think that their parents were right and even he had been told that magic was a special gift to any mage.

"Are you a prince?" One little girl asked out of the blue and that had actually caught Gray by surprise since he was expecting another question about his magic.

"Do you think I am one?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking. In the stories my Momma tells me, she says that princes are handsome, brave and saves people." The little girl replied and to his surprise, Gray found that all the kids agreed with her on that explanation.

"Big Sis says that you're her prince and she's waiting for you to save her from the dragon." A boy from the group spoke up this time and the ice mage tried his best not to laugh at the boy's indirect way of teasing his sister.

"My sister said the same thing, so they know you are a prince. She says she knows about a lot of things like Momma and Papa, so it means she knows that you're a prince." The group mentality these kids have made Gray curious since they all seemed to agree with the little boy and girl that talked about their sisters.

"I don't know about that, I don't believe that I'm as great as a prince is."

"Papa sometimes says that Prince Zorzal doesn't act like a "noble" prince, but I don't know what that means." That little girl just gave Gray a vital piece of information, making it out that the subjects of the Empire might not be happy with the royal family.

"Don't let it bother you too much, just let your idea of a prince stay with you and then you'll know who is a prince and who isn't." Gray wasn't so sure what he should tell these kids as he couldn't remember his own innocence after Deliora so well.

"Then tell us a story with a prince that you think is a prince." As confusing as that request was, the ice mage came to realize how his words might have sounded to these kids.

"Yeah! Tell us a story!" The whole group of kids agreed once again for a story and Gray wondered where were their parents. The ice mage could already feel himself caving in, but he wasn't very well versed when it came to fairy tales.

"I don't know many stories about princes that are like the ones you know, but I do know about the story of The Foolish Prince." Gray sat himself in an ice chair and prepared himself to tell a story he was making up on the spot.

"Once upon a time, a young prince lived happily in his kingdom with his parents, the King and Queen. All was well for the prince until he was eight, when everything he ever loved disappeared. A monster attacked his kingdom during the night, all the knights and even the King went off to protect everyone from the monster but were defeated in the end. The Queen hugged the prince tightly before making sure he got to safety while she tried to stop the monster too."

"The prince watched as his kingdom burned to the ground; his subjects, his loyal knights and his parents all gone and he was left all alone. A prince with no kingdom left with nothing but himself, and yet he stood up and buried everyone he lost. He was sad, very sad that everyone was gone but he was also mad at the monster that took them away from him and wanted to avenge the King and Queen. But the Prince was very weak and his body was very tired until a kind sage and her student found him and helped heal his body."

Gray looked over as the children were engrossed with his story, more so to the fact that he was using his magic to illustrate some scenes for them. Of course, he fell back on his life story, but he was going to make sure it had a happy ending for their sake.

"The Sage could feel the anger in the Prince's heart and wanted to teach him her magic of creation, the opposite of the monster's magic of destruction. She wanted to help heal his heart and soul so that he could live a happier life, but this was the first time the Prince acted like the fool. Months went by and the Prince took the Sage's teachings to heart as a way to take his revenge and the Sage's first student warned him to let it go since it wasn't worth it. He ignored the student's advice and this was the second time he acted the fool, but his third time was what made him see the bigger picture."

"He was upset that the Sage wouldn't teach him stronger magic to defeat the monster and made it clear that she would blame herself if he died trying to defeat it. This was his third mistake when he thought he was strong enough to fight the monster, but learned too late that he was no match. He stood in fear at the giant monster before him, knowing it was his end until the Sage used her creation magic to protect him from the monster's attack."

The children were visibly happy when the Sage had come to save the day, but this was the story of the Foolish Prince so he still needed to learn from his mistake. That's why he couldn't end the story with the Sage beating the monster since the Prince had to learn what he was failing at.

"The Sage's great wisdom in magic allowed her to know a powerful spell that would defeat the monster for good, but it came at a terrible price. As she casted her spell, she turned to look at the Prince with a warm smile and said _"Go on and live your life to the fullest, I've sealed away your darkness."_ And like his kingdom and his parents, the Prince watched as the Sage disappeared in a flash of blue light and the monster was defeated at the cost of the Sage's life. The Prince sat there in his tears realizing how big of a fool he was, now finding out that the Sage wanted him to live a happy life with her teachings of magic to create his own bright future."

"He realized who he was; a foolish prince, and stood up in respect of his master's last words to live his life to the fullest and traveled far away from the place he called home. He was back to where he started, now the Foolish Prince with nothing to his name until he found a place that took him in as if he was already one of them. A guild that treated each other like family and though the Foolish Prince became one with the common folk, he learned a whole new way of life with them. He became a strong magic user, like his master, the Sage, and went on many more adventures thanks to the guild."

"The Foolish Prince met many people along the way; a red-haired knight that wanted to protect the weak and followed a path of justice, two dragons that controlled the sky and fire who wanted to protect the humans who had become their friends and a celestial princess who befriended the stars above to come to her aid. There was also a lonely Sea Witch that he made a special bond with as a commoner, one he would never trade away for anything in the world. That included his chance to return to his old ways of being a prince and getting back his former kingdom, but they sadly lived in two different worlds and in the end, she returned to the sea."

"Even though he was saddened to see her leave forever, the Foolish Prince would always remember her in his heart and as he walked on into the future with his friends, he knew they'd live happily ever after. The Prince may never be one again, but he didn't mind it at all and gladly left behind his former life of being one. Only leaving the title of Foolish Prince to carry on to remember where he came from and never forget the mistakes he made. The End."

Gray looked over at the children before him, some had fallen asleep thanks to the story while others were still bustling with fascination as he told his tale and created representations with his magic. He could easily tell that these kids enjoyed the story and the ones asleep might have found it boring or had fallen asleep, given the time of night. He allowed his last creation, which was the forms of five figures interlocked by their arms over each of their shoulders, to disappear into thin air. The ice mage did his best to keep his cool once he realized that Wendy, Lelei and some villagers had also come to listen to the story.

"That was different from the ones Momma tells, but I really liked it! Does the Foolish Prince marry the Ce-Cel...the Princess of Stars?" One of the few girls that was still awake had asked and Gray chuckled to himself about its implication to his personal life.

"The Foolish Prince actually loved the Sea Witch, but they lived very different lives and would sadly never see each other again. The Celestial Princess on the other hand sought adventure and would find romance when she knew the time was right."

"You said a fire dragon was friends with the Foolish Prince, how could it if they're just really big lizards." One boy said and he wasn't wrong from his point of view, so it was up to the ice mage to clear things up.

"That's true in most cases, but this fire dragon decided to take on a human form forever so that he could live alongside his friends. The same thing could be said about the Sky Dragon as she followed his example."

"Well, we enjoyed your story mister wizard and we think that the Foolish Prince was a noble prince in the end when he decided to give up his chance at the life of royalty, for the memories of the woman he came to love. Alright children, it's late and it's time to get to bed. You've all gotten your fair share of a good story." One mother from the group of villagers who decided to listen to the story began as she led the children back to their families making sure they thanked Gray for his story.

"Many will remember the Foolish Prince and if they don't, I took the liberty of writing everything down to tell others at a later time." Lelei said and Gray made no remark as he felt himself slightly flush at the fact that someone wrote down every word of his made up story based on his life.

"Do as you please, I'm sure not everyone will enjoy the story." Wendy giggled at his reaction and the ice mage decided to leave it at that and go to bed.

"The visuals were somewhat hard to recreate through drawings, but I described them in detail for an artist to make copies."

"Like I said, do as you please. Doesn't matter much to me." With that Gray ended the conversation and got himself ready to sleep, hoping that he didn't make a mistake in telling that story to those kids.

* * *

Nothing of real note happened that following morning as they continued on with the journey, moving forward with sparse breaks every so often with the only eventful occurrence being that a few carriages got caught in the mud and needed to be pushed out. Gray drove the Jack Rabbit at the sides of the caravan, mainly staying nearby Lelei's cart and had taken notice of the curious stare she had about the magicycle when she got the chance to look. The ice mage knew it was the simple fact of the cycle just existing that had her curiosity, no doubt being followed by her want to know how it worked and what made it move. That or she was figuring out a way to talk to him after his sudden change in behavior last night when she said that she recorded The Foolish Prince.

"Gray there's something going on at the front." At Wendy's claim, Gray came out of his musings and looked up to see the caravan had stopped where a carriage was leaning at an odd angle.

"Looks like another broken carriage, I could try to see if I can fix it like the last one or it might just be stuck in the mud." Gray revved up the jack Rabbit as he sped up to the leaning carriage and as he came up to the site, a family of three came up to him begging.

"Please young wizard, use your magic to repair our carriage; the axle is beyond repairable and the elder says that we must abandon our belongings. We ask of you to help us as you did our neighbors the day before." The family deeply bowed to Gray and the awkward tension began to build as he didn't feel right being asked for a favor so desperately, especially from a family in this situation.

The problem, though, is that now his magic could be seen as an exploitable means of fixing a problem and the ice mage wasn't willing to become a village's easy life cheat. But he would come off as a hypocrite if he didn't do anything to help them when he was willing to do so for another stranger's family. He was starting to see what Erza might have meant about showing off his magical prowess of it meant that things like this would crop up, but there was no turning back now so he got straight to work and finished just as fast as the last one.

The family thanked Gray profusely for coming to their aid and Gray merely said that it was no problem and made it clear that they needed to find a place to stay before his magic wears off. Of course, that was a bit of a lie since his ice can keep its shape for extremely long periods of time without melting, but it was just to make them believe that there was a risk to using his magic. Gray looked around to see what the JSDF had in mind, but as he looked towards Itami's lead vehicle, the ice mage had caught sight of a mass of crows on the horizon and a struggle happening where Itami was.

Gray revved the engine as he sped his way to help Itami, informing Wendy to get her magic ready as they drew closer at great speeds. The ice mage applied the brakes and skid to a stop, magic at the ready as he turned to face the assailant attacking Itami.

"Itami are you okay!?" Gray asked as his frost aura became visible for combat, but he ended up wanting to facepalm as he took a look into the passenger's seat where Itami was.

Itami looked over at Gray with a flushed face as a small, fair skinned girl in gothic lolita clothing smiled widely up at the soldier. Gray knew what she was wearing thanks in part of Erza's desire for "cute" clothing, but there was a crime waiting to happen from his point of view. Wendy must have thought a similar thing since she was blushing madly into her hands when Gray turned to look at her. The goth lolita turned to look at Gray and a devilish smile spread across her face as she took in the sight of the ice mage, a weird chill running up his spine by the way she looked at him.

"My, my now what do we have here. You're different from these men and women, you're actually dangerous and I want to know why." The short girl jumped off Itami's lap and walked over towards Gray and some instinct in his body was telling him that she was bad news, but Zero was having a different reaction.

 **"Don't cower away from her, assert dominance Gray! For the sake of both of us, hold your ground!"** Zero wasn't being panicked in the slightest, far from it as he sounded more challenging than anything out of fear. **"She's worthy of a fight, this is a battlefield right now Gray! You must keep yourself at her level or it is your loss for the future!"**

Zero gave advice every now and again when the benefit was there for the both of them and when survival was key but in the time they've been linked, this was the first Gray's heard it be so aggressive. There had to be a reason and his best bet was to listen, Zero's been around for four hundred years so his knowledge was as good as any at the moment.

"Would it really matter for you to know? I see you've taken an interest to Itami, so I'm sure you wouldn't want to waste your time with me."

"He offers time to my curious mind and is simply a joy to tease from what I've done to him so far and yet, you stand before me with much more resolve than what I thought you'd have when I first laid eyes on you."

"That's me alright, playing the underdog from the get go. Hope you aren't disappointed with what you got."

"On the contrary, I find you very interesting. I hope to see more of you later on, we might have something in common."

"I personally doubt that, but I could be proven wrong. Hope you got as much of an eyeful as you wanted."

"Not nearly enough, I want to see what you can really do."

"Lady's first"

"Hmm...Rory, Rory Mercury. Please do well to remember my name."

"Gray"

"Gray, huh? Fitting..."

Rory gave him another devilish smile before she boarded Itami's vehicle once again and the ice mage gave the poor soldier a thumbs up for luck. He'll need any and all that he could get his hands on. As for the ice mage, he started up the Jack Rabbit and made his way back to his original place near Lelei's cart.

"How did you stand up to that Gray?" Happy asked as he tried his best to relax his now bushy tail, glad that they were clear away from Rory. "She was giving off such intense pressure and you went and matched her for no reason. I thought my heart was going to stop."

"Happy isn't kidding Gray, I haven't felt that intimidated since I first went up against one of the Demon Gates." Wendy didn't want to cut in between their conversation and she knew she couldn't, but it felt as if they were sizing each other up in some way.

"It almost sounded like a simple conversation, but it seemed everyone else wasn't aware of how intense it was. Else they'd be pale with astonishment of what transpired." Carla added, trying her best not to think that the ice mage was being reckless for no reason.

"Hopefully that'll be the last time it happens, sorry about that you guys. Something inside of me said that I shouldn't back down against her and went with that feeling." Gray just hoped that he was right in listening to Zero, crossing his fingers that this doesn't come to bite him later.

 **"You did well Gray, most low leveled mages wouldn't be able to stand up to that pressure she was emitting and it was a good thing you weren't one of them."** Zero began and Gray had questions for it as there was something he was missing.

 _"What was that pressure anyways, Itami and his crew didn't react to it and neither did the villagers."_ If the others felt it, they did a damn well job not reacting to it and thinking less of the entire heavy conversation they shared.

 **"That was killer instinct, most predators use this as a way to intimidate their prey into submission by the sheer pressure of impending death. She zeroed in on only you so no else felt it and since your companions are behind you, they got caught in the crossfire."**

 _"Care to explain how I managed to stand up against that? I don't think I have much in the way of killer instinct to match hers."_ Gray was skilled in a number of things, but a predatory ability like that didn't sound like something he possesses. Even if he did, it would still be a low ringer.

 **"Of course you do, you had awakened your hidden potential for it when you went berserker against Invel which spread into your fight with the awakening might of E.N.D. as facing him one-on-one was a suicide mission. It's what kept you alive for the majority of the fight since you were ready to kill to end your fight, if you weren't then E.N.D. would've taken advantage of your weakness and killed you instead."**

 _"Thanks for the clarification... and what of you? Why were you so eager for the challenge?"_

 **"I'm an Etherious, to find a challenge like that causes my metaphorical blood to boil over and rise to it, plus there is something about her that is very interesting and I can't exactly pinpoint as to what that is. Be cautious; Scarlet and E.N.D. may pique her interest and then it'll become a shit show if things go south with them."**

 _"I'll keep that in mind Zero, hopefully she's all I have to deal with for today. Last thing I want is to have that damn dragon on my ass and get the idiot involved with the fight after just meeting Rory."_

 **"Fate is an asshole, so you're better off keeping your guard up. You never know when you've just jinxed yourself."**


	11. The New World Pt IV

The New World Pt. IV

After the brief interaction between Rory and Gray, along with Itami trying his best and failing to have the halberd wielding girl leave him alone, the caravan continued on its trek. The beaming sun shone brightly over them, the afternoon's heat setting in and making the ride somewhat uncomfortable for most save for Wendy riding behind Gray. The ice mage had a "cool zone" around his person when he felt the heat, usually making others around him feel it as well as a byproduct with hardly a complaint since they would benefit from it too. Gray was doing it subconsciously as his inner thoughts were busy speaking with Zero on the matter of Rory and how she was someone to be cautious around. The whole concept of killer instinct was still hard to fully grasp for the ice mage, though Zero kept making it out that it was the most basic of basic natures for any living being to possess to a degree.

"Honestly, if this cliffside were a tad bit higher and to the left of us then we'd be riding comfortably in shade." Carla complained as even though she was receiving the benefit of Gray's "cool zone", the sun still shone all over her and her fur was very much like insulation. "It feels hotter here than it does in the summer in Magnolia."

"It's okay Carla, we just need to bear with it for a few more hours and then the sun will start setting." Wendy tried to relax her cat companion until the rhythmic beat of wings echoed in her ears. "Gray do you hear that?"

Gray was still lost in the midst of his thoughts with Zero to have heard Wendy and it was only when she began to tap on his shoulder, did he come back to reality. He was about to ask Wendy what exactly did it sound like until he heard the same rhythmic beat and turned to scan the sky around him. He heard not one rhythm but two and there was a distinction between them; short and quick flaps and long, powerful ones and neither sounded good in Gray's ears. This set him off into high alert and knew he needed to act fast, time was against them and it was something they needed the most of.

"Wendy, take the skies and buy us as much time as you can while I'll get everyone moving. I've got two ideas of what those sounds are and they aren't great." Gray ordered and Wendy nodded in understanding as Carla braced herself and carried her caretaker into the air.

"You'll stay with me Happy, but be prepared for anything."

"Aye, Sir!"

"Everyone, move! The Fire Dragon's coming!" Gray began to shout but just as he started, he watched as a flaming wall of fire immolate three carriages behind him as many more began to scatter. "Damn it!"

Chaos erupted as the dragon made landfall, it's massive tail slamming against the ground had terrified the horses into fleeing which caused a number of them to trip and launch both carriage and riders into the air. Gray caught sight of Wendy launching her attacks with precision to avoid any collateral damage as many villagers were still in the dragon's vicinity. He could tell that they were dealing damage the more she attacked as gash wounds from the extreme wind pressure would appear across it left forearm. It flapped its wings to take flight once again, catching Carla off guard as the wind momentarily destabilized her and went off in chase of the escaping carriages.

Gray had seen how fast Igneel was in his final battle with Acnologia, so it hadn't surprised him at the speed this fire dragon was going at to try and catch up to Lelei's cart. The ice mage watched as the entire thing including themselves and the mule were wrapped in her magic, speeding off just ahead of the dragon's flame breath with Kato crying out in fear. Gray wanted to help them, but he had to save the villagers that the dragon had ignored after attacking. He sped up the Jack Rabbit as fast as it could go, instantaneously freezing any flame remnants as he went by, saving as many as he could from the flames and those that were trapped by flaming debris.

"Erza do your read me!?" Gray called out into the communication lacrima as he sped after the dragon.

 _"I hear you Gray, what's wrong?"_

"I need you ASAP! The fire dragon's attacking and I'll be spread too thin at the rate its going!"

 _"I understand, hold off as much as you can. We're on our way!"_ Holding out was their best bet for the mean time, so he had faith in Wendy to do her best while he evacuated everyone else.

In the meantime, Wendy's latest attack drove the dragon's gaping maw down as it prepared to fire at Lelei again, causing the beast to switch its target back to the twin tailed dragon slayer. Lelei did her best to control the speeding mule away from the danger that was only a handful of meters behind her, but was amazed at the level of bravery Wendy was showing to face off against a fire dragon on her own. When she turned to look back at how she was fairing, she watched the dark-haired girl and Carla dodge a heavy claw swipe at them as the very air surrounding them began to swirl before Wendy's mouth. Lelei had never seen such a thing happen before, but she was blown away just seconds after as a vortex of air shot forth from the teenager's mouth. Grounding the dragon before it was able to take flight again, an impossibility within Lelei's knowledge of even the strongest of wizards in history and it was a shared amazement.

"Lelei, focus! We can stand in awe later, for now we must run for our lives!" Kato exclaimed as he shook his student repeatedly, trying to turn his life saving mule in the direction of the other surviving carriages. "Where are they going!?"

Lelei turned to see what her master was talking about to see the JSDF metal carriages speeding off after the dragon as well. Those were regular humans with no magical talent facing off against a mythical beast of chaos, Lelei's admiration for them continued to grow at such bravery. Though it wasn't exclusive to just them as it went out for Wendy and Gray as well once she caught sight of him going off to fight.

"Whether they're stupidly brave or bravely stupid to face a Flame Dragon, they are risking everything for our lives so we must escape Lelei!" Kato continued to exclaim as Lelei retook the reins and sped them off to safety.

"Why did it have to be an overgrown lizard!? Why not an army of soldiers!?" Gray cried out to himself as he fired off a volley of powerful ice lances into one of the dragon's hind legs. "The first thing I end up fighting is a damn fire dragon!"

The scales on this one were obviously much tougher than the lesser dragons he shot down back in Earth Land, so it was fine for him not to hold back. His attacks were doing some worth of damage, but Gray couldn't make a clear shot at it as it would thrash around in response to the JSDF's own attacks against it. the attacks only seemed to annoy it even further as the ice mage could see the impacts glistening the scales without leaving so much as a scratch. They were brave for being regular people, but Gray was aware that it was up to him to protect them if they were blindsided by the dragon's attacks. It was the least he could do for them risking their lives like he and Wendy were doing.

As for Wendy, the ice mage believed that she had done enough on her part as her healing magic was essential now to treat the wounded. She's the advantage they had fighting the beast for being a dragon slayer, but he couldn't afford to let Wendy exhaust herself before she could help heal the wounded. Gray was confident that he and the JSDF could hold the dragon's attention, so he activated the communications link they were given earlier on to signal her.

"Wendy that's enough, we can hold it here for now. Go and help the villagers."

 _"I'm a dragon slayer, Gray. I'm much more helpful here battling the dragon."_

"I know you are, but you are their best bet to survive any wounds they had just received. They need your help Wendy, I know I can trust you to save their lives."

Wendy did not reply to him, but she launched a wing attack before Carla used her max speed to fly her away from the battle and towards the terrified villagers. Gray felt like he played on one of her weak cards, but it was for the best if they could save more lives than the ones the dragon had already taken.

* * *

Itami watched as the teenager flew away, but had little time to think on it as he continued to fire his rifle at the dragon. A comment went by that they were just using pea shooters at some point when their weapons had no effect, not even the Browning was doing much aside from annoying it from the looks of the dragon. He was more surprised that Gray, who was casting ice magic with his hands instead of steering his motorcycle, was capable of dealing some amount of damage to it. A quick thought had passed by the captain's mind as he had realized that dragon types were weak against ice types, but it was drowned out as Kurata yelled out a breath attack was incoming.

"Everyone, scatter before you're caught in the flames!"

"We're too bunched up, there isn't much room to move!" Itami hadn't noticed that their spacing had been jumbled thanks to the terrain they were fighting on and the dragon's spontaneous attack zones.

Itami prepared to face the intense heat, but watched as an icy blue wall rise high into air and deflected the flames away from them. Gray had managed to speed up his motorcycle in time to be ahead of them and created a tall wall of ice right behind him, blocking the flame from ever touching any of the JSDF vehicles. Coming as much of a surprise to everyone that the ice held out in the first place, as there was no way it could handle the intense heat the dragon's flame had. The captain grit his teeth after Gray stopped creating the wall as they were barely having any effect on the thing as it was and they were too far out to call for support that would arrive on time.

Not to mention that Gray seemed to be using lots of magic and might not have enough to keep fighting for much longer if all those RPGs he played had taught him anything about wizards without any mana potions in a prolonged fight. Itami watched as another breath attack began to build up in the dragon's mouth and really hoped that Gray was up for making another wall in time, but his anticipation turned to deathly concern as it wasn't aiming for them. The dragon's maw opened up again, this time firing a ball of flaming death towards the defenseless villagers and Itami was left to watch as the fire ball blew up on impact. All of their hard work literally going up in flames and the innocent lives they could have saved if they had drawn its attention even more.

The captain was unsure if he should order a retreat now that their primary objective had been wiped out, but a shining gleam was starting to blind him from the side mirror and he tried to get a clear look at what was the sun reflecting off of. To his shock, a towering shield stood strong as the remnants of embers began to swirl into the air until they were completely extinguished in the same manner that Itami saw Wendy inhale the air. Not long after the strange event, did he see an object launch into the air like a rocket at a tremendous speed although he couldn't make out what it was as the elf girl had awakened.

Itami could see her making a gesture and saying a phrase he didn't have time to translate, but he quickly deduced that she was referring to an eye. He shifted his focus towards the eyes of the dragon and discovered one of them had an arrow lodged deep within. This gave Itami a clear idea as to how to harm this beast, by blinding it entirely and ordered everyone to open fire at its one good eye. As they continued suppressing fire, the object the captain had noticed being launched was drawing closer and it was on fire.

What Itami didn't know since he couldn't see it very well was that it wasn't any object coming in, it was the FEF's greatest solution to a fire dragon problem. Natsu grinned widely as he and Happy were approaching the target, finally finding the challenge he wanted since coming to the Special Region. With no better way than having his best bud at his side, completely filled with joy that his blue furred friend was back with him safe and sound. Marking their reunion as a memorable one by teaming up and taking down a fire dragon.

"Alright, pal, it's time for the Flaming Torpedo! Max Speed the strafe run Happy!" It was a specialized moved they came up with during their one-year training, though it didn't have many practical uses aside from being really cool in their opinions. Basically, the move utilized Max Speed and one of Natsu's moves to deal massive damage at a devastating speed.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy replied as he flew higher into the sky and once at the appropriate height, he used his Max Speed and angled himself so that Natsu would have a direct hit at the dragon from behind.

"Release, Happy!" Natsu commanded as he engulfed himself in his flames at the right speed and aimed straight for the dragon's head. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He yelled, but seconds before his fist would connect, the dragon shifted its position.

Natsu knew he could still save the attack if he launched a fire burst to counter his momentum and propel him to the right, but as he was about to do so he watched a metal orb hurtling his way. With his fast reflexes, the dragon slayer changed his burst to counter the object and caused a massive explosion in face in doing so. Natsu took the initial shockwave of the explosion head on, while eating the rest of it as he hurled through the air onto the dragon's back. He swore he'd find out who was it that launched the thing at him in first place, once he was finished with this mindless beast that was an insult to fire dragons. Landing on its back was an accident, but a good one and Natsu would capitalize on it as he set his fist aflame. He struck the dragon's back with all his might and watched as the creature roar in pain as it tried to shove him off, feeling it bending forward with every punch.

In his assault, the pink haired slayer noticed Gray leading a number of vehicles away from the battle and assumed that he left it to him to finish off the dragon. He wouldn't complain about getting to fight a dragon on his own, but he wanted to get his first move done right so he fired off his beacon flame into the air. Soon enough, just like they practiced many times before, Happy came in at full speed and grabbed Natsu by the waist and into the sky. The Exceed was showing bravery in the face of extreme danger without anyone else at his side and Natsu couldn't be anymore prouder of his best friend.

"Alright Happy, let's do this again!" Natsu informed as Happy made his back to holding the dragon slayer by his coat shoulders and once again used his Max Speed.

"Now!" Happy let go of Natsu, changing his flight pattern to curve upward and back into the sky while Natsu went on his trajectory. "Let's see you try this one! Fire Dragon's Talon!" Natsu was aiming directly for the neck when the dragon shifted again to protect its head from something pelting it and needed to decide on a new target fast.

"If I can't take your neck, then I'll take your arm!" Natsu followed through with his claim as he used as much power as he mustered to cleave through flesh and bone from the dragon arm with blood splattering across his face as he crashed into the ground.

Landing on one knee, the dragon slayer superheated his body to evaporate the blood on his face as a massive object fell at his side with a booming thud. An entire dragon arm had been cut thanks to his attack, but Natsu was dissatisfied that a fire dragon couldn't even resist it compared to Atlas Flame who held his own. It was a threat to every living being in the Special Region and a disgrace to the dragon kind his father ruled over and he was set on cleaning the slate. As Natsu readied himself to attack again, the dragon roared in pain once it had finally registered that it was missing a limb and flapped its wings to take flight. The pink slayer couldn't believe that a fierce creature like a dragon was on the retreat, remembering how Acnologia may have lost an arm but he still fought on and sadly defeated Igneel.

"Get back here you coward! I ain't through with you yet!" Natsu yelled at the retreating figure of the flame dragon, prepping another beacon so that he and Happy can go chase it down.

"That's enough, Natsu! You already drew it away." Gray came up on his Jack Rabbit and Natsu wasn't glad to be stopped from hunting his prey.

"Letting it live is going to cause more problems for people, I need to hunt it down!"

"I know! But right now, there's more we need to do and we've got to be careful now that we aren't alone. You attacked and drove off what these people call a flame dragon, you just became larger than life and trying to keep a low profile is now going to be a lot harder for us."

"So? I helped you guys when you needed it, plus Erza saved all those people with her huge shield so she's bigger than life too!"

"I get, alright? Look, you're help came in time but this world doesn't know about dragon slayers. People like that don't exist here, Erza found a pass when the prisoners said she was a War Maiden. A woman of legend." Natsu did come in time, so the last thing Gray wanted to do was butt heads with the dragon slayer after already doing so many times because of their previous verbal clashes.

"A War Maiden? But they don't have dragon slayers?" It didn't make sense to Natsu that the Special Region doesn't have people of legend that defeated a dragon. "There's got to be dragon slayers, there's no way there aren't any."

"Who knows, but for now let's head back. We've got to deal with what comes after a dragon attack." Gray circled the Jack Rabbit around and offered Natsu a ride, but he outright refused and waited for Happy to pick him up.

Once Natsu did make it back to the sight of all the dragon attack survivors, he let the heavy feeling in his gut weigh him down on the inside as he helped move destroyed carriages out of the way. As he looked out onto the rocky plains for the first time, he saw the real destruction that dragon had done to these people. He was so focused on reuniting with Happy and fighting the fire dragon that he didn't take notice of what all these villagers lost. Lucy went on to look after any of the children who couldn't find their parents with the help of Aries and her wool to soothe their terrified hearts. It was a nice distraction she provided by summoning Aries and the ever-calming wool the spirit produced, but their fear was still lingering on their faces.

Natsu turned to look at Erza who decided to help Wendy tend to the wounded, mainly heavy lifting as she was the stronger of the two and explain to the chief how they were allies of Gray. She was level headed, but the dragon slayer could see the minor signs of regret on her face that she tried her hardest to hide from everyone. He could only guess it to being her want of showing up earlier after Gray had called on them. As for the ice mage, his powers were put to good use with flipping over salvageable carriages and repairing the ones that could recover from the damage. Gray still got on his nerves for his cowardly way of trying to avoid fights, but he had to acknowledge the fact that he and Wendy held off a dragon on their own especially as the people in green's weapons barely made a difference.

"You aren't like any normal fire mage and you're not afraid of facing a dragon, why?" A random girl with light blue hair asked as she seemingly came out of nowhere since Natsu was too distracted to pay attention.

"I'm a special type of fire mage and why should I be afraid of that overgrown lizard? It makes a mockery of what real fire dragons are like." To Natsu, this fire dragon could be a wyvern that breathes fire for all he cared as it was no Atlas Flame or Igneel. "Actual fire dragons are stronger and fiercer, not weaklings that can be so easily affected by ice magic."

"Odd, you seem more impulsive. Relying more on instinct and greater damage output than a strategy. Much different than Gray." Well what'll know, he already got compared to the ice ass by this stranger faster than anyone in the FEF. "Is it due to magic specialization?"

"The ice bastard is too cautious, makes things more complicated than they need to be. You barely met him, but you'll see that the way I do things is much more efficient." If people would follow his lead, Natsu knows that they could accomplish a lot in less time than any prediction made.

"There seems to be comradery between you and Gray, but you use derogatory nicknames. Why is that?"

"You got a lot of questions don't you, kid?"

"I'm no mere child, my name is Lelei La Lelena a young adult of fifteen years." She pridefully said towards the pink haired young man who rolled his eyes as he went back to searching for salvageable items the survivors could use.

"Well, from where I'm from you are just a teenager that still needs to grow up." Compared to regular people, mages do seem wiser for their age although some still want to act like they're teenagers.

"Inaccuracy, Wendy is but a year older than me and she is seen as Gray's equal. Your statement is slightly ungrounded by comparison."

"Leave the ice bastard out of this, I could care less how he sees things. Wendy's still a kid, she's just seen much more than anyone should for her age."

"Understandable, she fought the flame dragon once it started attacking on her own. Most wizards would have decided to run given the chance." It's suicidal to even try to face a dragon one on one and yet, Wendy did just that until Gray took over. The ice mage and his allies were very brave, even the JSDF in their iron carriages went for the attack alongside them.

"Not members of Fairy Tail, we're the bravest around and won't back down for anything, dragon or otherwise." Natsu took the time to be proud at his words and allowed Lelei to take a clear look at his exposed guild mark. "I think it's time for you to head back and help the others, I'm fine on my own over here."

Lelei had taken sight of the marking and made a mental note to remember the insignia, hoping to see if Gray's allies all shared a common one. She then bowed to excuse herself and went back to helping her master search for the books on health tonics to heal the wounded as it seemed that Wendy was tiring out from the healing she was doing. Natsu was back to being alone, finishing his tenth carriage with anything worth taking left on the outside of the broken carriages until a small group of children came up to him.

"Hey mister, is the dragon coming back?" One boy asked, his face tear stricken and a part of Natsu broke at the sight as it reminded him of all the familiar faces of children crying at the ceremony at the capital.

"Doubt it, so don't worry about that wimp, it isn't coming back." He was confident that it wouldn't return, it went running when it was beaten to lick its wounds.

"So you have to be like really strong with magic, just like Master Kato says." Another boy said who had seen him fly into the air with the blue cat Lelei found. "He says that only someone powerful can fight a dragon."

"I am strong with my magic, but I had an easier time because I have a special talent."

"What's that?" They said collectively and Natsu didn't see any harm in telling them, they were kids and most people think kids have overactive imaginations and come to random conclusions on their own.

"I was raised by a fire dragon and he taught me how to use fire dragon slaying magic." Natsu watched as all their eyes went wide in disbelief, unsure if they should take his word but it was easily seen that they remember what he did to the flame dragon.

"No way!" Excitement swelled within them as dragon slayers were fabled parties that risked their very lives to defeat a dragon, but they had no idea there was a magic for it. "But weren't you afraid that the dragon that took care of you would eat you?"

"Where I'm from, he wasn't the type to attack humans. Igneel was his name and he was the one who took me in, becoming like a dad to me."

"Does that mean you're like a dragon too?" One boy said and to an extent he was actually right, since he could've turned like Acnologia and became a dragon if it weren't for Igneel's intervention.

"Sort of, I can do a lot of things like a dragon except fly since I'm me, a human just like. I choose to be one and stay with my friends over turning into some giant monster people are afraid of." Natsu claimed proudly, but he didn't understand what was all the mumbling the kids were doing after he finished talking.

"Are there more like you? Dragon slayers that help out people?"

"There are a handful of us, Wendy's one of them too. She's a sky dragon slayer, so she can control the air however she wants to." Their mumblings continued on with an added dose of surprise when they discovered that Gray's companion was a dragon slayer too.

In hushed whispers the children started to piece the puzzle together as the pink haired man told them enough that the ice wizard was who they thought he was. The red-haired knight who protected them with her massive shield, the blonde woman with ability to summon beings from another plane of existence and the dragons that were human. It all came together perfectly in their minds that the ice wizard was in fact the Foolish Prince.

"I think you kids should head back now, there's still a lot of work he needs to do." Came the smooth, yet eerily calm voice of a girl wielding a giant axe that had the dragon slayer wondering how she hadn't dropped it yet.

"But Oracle, he's like the heroes in stories because he's a dragon slayer."

"Hero or not, you children need to return to your mothers. It's almost time to head out."

Many of the kids made to complain, but worried mothers called out to them to return and with defeated groans did they walk back to the main group. Natsu liked those kids, but he was glad they left for the fact that he came across the bodies of a family that had their carriage topple on top of them. He carefully pulled them aside and covered them with any available tarps as he went on with his job, doing his best to control his burning anger of what happened here and what could be happening to his people. It was going to be a long day for everyone.

"You are an interesting one." Natsu had completely forgotten the girl who sent the kids away in the first place and turned to see her perched on a salvaged crate. "You have the air of a very serious threat, just like the ice wizard."

"Gray doesn't hold a candle to me, so it isn't fair to compare him to me."

"My... A confident one, aren't you? It matters little to me how you view yourself since you both are two sides of the same coin in my eyes." Something wasn't right with the conversation Natsu was having with her, the girl was sending the strangest vibes that tried to unnerve him.

"Oh yeah? Who are you to judge?"

"Rory Mercury, an apostle of the dark lord Emroy."

"Am I supposed to know who that is?"

"Judging by your demeanor, I guess not but always remember that you've gained my attention."

"If you're going to be looking at me then you better remember the name; Natsu Dragneel."

"Very well, Natsu Dragneel, I will keep your name in mind." With that, Rory spun her weapon with ease in one hand and left with nothing more than a cute giggle as she went over towards the JSDF group.

"What a weirdo..."

* * *

The night fell upon them as they stood in silence before a newly made grave site for those who didn't make it through the dragon attack. The flowers of this world illuminated the night as wisps of blue light raised into the sky, a beautiful sight if it weren't for the saddening atmosphere and the quiet sobs of those who lost someone. The members of Fairy Tail paid their respects to the fallen as did the JSDF, but Gray and Wendy took it a bit harder after spending time with these people and connecting with them. The ice mage laid a comforting hand on the head of a tear-stricken girl who was left an orphan now, just like he was in the past. He could empathize with her pain and hoped that she would find the peace he found, just not by the means of trouble he had to go through.

As everyone began to disperse, Gray gave the graves one last parting gift of an unmeltable ice rose to each one. A token of remembrance as the harsher part of death is to be forgotten, something he wasn't keen of letting happen and as he placed the final rose down did the village chief come up to him.

"I must thank you for your bravery young man, I've already thanked the JSDF for their efforts as well but it was you and your allies who truly stopped the death toll from rising." The old man was grateful that many more lives had come out of this than the dozens more he had expected, it was just stone-cold fact when a dragon attacks.

"What will you do now? Will traveling at night truly be a safe option?" They made it this far of the journey together, so Gray was somewhat concerned to be parting ways.

"With the dragon forced to flee with its tail between its legs, we don't need to fear for our lives and the final leg of the journey is now the safest." That was good to hear for the most part, but Gray couldn't help but wonder what they plan to do with those who lost everything.

"What about them?" Gray asked as he pointed towards the group he was thinking about, hoping there was an option for them too. "Will you be able to take them with you?"

"The JSDF asked the same thing of me before, but I'm afraid that we must think of ourselves at this point. We can't worry for the others while also worrying about our own families." It was the reality of this world; the worst outcomes of life will befall anyone and Gray could only assume that it was rare to change things around.

"I guess you've all sacrificed enough that it's now a risk to think of others."

"I wish it weren't so, but life gives fairness at its own pace." The chief looked solemnly at the group, but did his best to perk himself up. "But I do not fear for them, Itami said he had something in mind for them. I trust that they'll be well taken care of."

"If you believe in him then I'll take your word for it. Again, I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop the dragon from taking all those lives at the end of the caravan." Wendy had heard it first, but he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he failed to realize what was coming their way.

"You mustn't trouble yourself, you are only human but you all did greater things than any of us could hope to ever accomplish. Your noble acts have given everyone hope, so hold your head up high young man. Youngsters are quick to put the whole world on their shoulders, but have to know that sometimes things will be out of their hands." The old chief patted Gray's shoulder and gave him a thankful smile, wishing to himself that he had something more to offer him. "Maybe it was destiny that brought all of you to us in our moment of need, I pray the gods watch over you and your allies."

"And safe travels to you and your people." The old chief smiled once more before heading back to his carriage, the other families already set and prepared to leave long ago.

Across from where Gray was having his talk with the old chief, Itami looked on with curiosity about the young man. He came about out of the blue with close to modern technology, his motorcycle and four-wheeler his allies came in, and magic at his disposal without showing a moments sense of hesitation when it came to engaging the dragon. The uniforms are unlike anything the chief had said when Itami asked and it looked like they weren't part of the Empire, so there was more the JSDF can do alongside them if they gave the chance. This was mere observation on the captain's part, but it couldn't hurt to have a guy who can rip off a dragon's arm on your side, right?

"Captain, we've already gotten everyone accounted for, what's our next order?"

"Kuribayashi, what's your new opinion about our new comers? Still think we should be careful of them?" The short woman was much keener on reviewing things with a critical eye than he was, thought itami wondered if she ever did relax.

"I do, Sir. We've seen what they're capable of now and need to watch how much we give away." She replied and the captain hummed in response to her.

"Well, we just showed that our weapons were like pea shooters against a dragon where their magic had way more of an effect in comparison." Itami saw someone rip an arm off with his foot on fire, so he was pretty much impressed with that, but that also reminded him of another matter. "How's Katsumoto doing by the way?"

"Slightly shaken up with what happened before and the earful he got from someone in another language." Kuribayashi saw the look of horror on the man's face when his launcher missed and hit the guy with pink hair, but found some relief when he popped out fine for the most part.

"Anyone would be that way if they thought they had accidentally killed someone, not to mention the yelling that came afterward from said person." Now that was shocking to see for a person to survive a head on collision with a launcher and come out unscathed. "For now, we should prepare to mount up. Looks like the chief is leaving with the rest of the survivors."

"Sir!"

Kuribayashi went off to inform the rest of the unit of the new orders and once the gear was stowed away, they had gathered to wave goodbye to the people they came to protect. Many of the survivors left with happy smiles and grateful calls to all of them, though Itami was taken slightly aback by the way Kuribayashi had taken it to heart as she wiped a tear from her eye. This was how their recon mission came to its end, a battle with a dragon and a farewell from the village they saved. All that was left was to take those who didn't have anywhere to go to with them back to base.

"So Captain, what will we do with the rest of them?" Kurokawa asked as she and Itami turned to face the remaining villagers.

"They're refugees, right?" Itami rhetorically asked as he threw up a peace sign and did his best to pronounce his next words. "Don't you worry, it'll be fine!"

"I knew you would say something like that." Kurokawa gave him a kind smile and Itami felt relieved that she was smiling in gratefulness and not in contempt like she did before.

"See, I can be humane too." Itami joked and felt assured that things were starting to change, but he quickly went after Gray as he was gearing up his motorcycle.

He ran his way over to him, hoping for the chance that he would agree with his little idea and, in a way, an outstretched hand to be on friendly terms with them. The ice mage was part of a military that didn't seem to be their enemy, they wielded powerful magic and may have some information at their disposal they could trade for. Itami couldn't let a chance like this pass up, or how his higher ups would be yelling at him about if he just left Gray to leave. And to think that some people thought that he didn't care about his job so much.

"Gray!" Itami called as the ice mage turned to look at him, more with confusion over anything else as he came up to the dark-haired young man. "You're heading out already?"

"I am, we stood by this village for its protection and now they don't need it. It's time I get back to my mission." He replied and watched as Itami began to fumble through his little book in search of the right words he wanted to say.

"I was actually wondering if you'd like to come with us. We can find a way to thank you back at our base." To be honest, Itami had no real idea of how to make ties with people or even coercing them to come along to something that wasn't one of his cons.

"That's fine, I don't need any thanks. We both put our lives on the line to protect these people, knowing that they made it out alive is fine as it is." Itami could almost feel the sense of a knight in shining armor or noble coming off of the ice mage, remembering the word passing around from the villagers that Gray was actually a former prince of some sorts.

"I insist, we can both help each other out in some way. We can even find a way to give you our support if you ever need it." So Itami didn't really have the authority to negotiate terms for an alliance like this, but maybe his higher ups could find a way to get around it and let him off with a slap on the wrist. It could benefit them in the long run anyway, so it's kind of like a win-win scenario.

"Hmmm." The captain watched as the ice mage thought about, glad that it was enough to get him to think it over which was a good sign for the most part. "It might not be a bad offer, but you'll have to take it up with my C.O."

Now that caught Itami's attention as he believed that Gray was in charge, but he was actually following orders from a squad leader or someone akin to that. He stayed in place as the ice mage walked off to his other allies, mainly towards the woman in armor and did his best to calm himself as they made their way back. She was a beauty with amazing red hair, that much was obvious and she just fit the part of this old manga series he read a few years ago about a princess knight and her many adventures. The character wasn't as busty as the red head, but the descriptions were similar to a degree and he smiled as she walked back into place next to Gray. The ice mage was at least a head taller than her, but she had an air of authority that Itami thought he was in front of one of his old drill instructors again, now realizing why she was in command.

"I'm Commander Erza Scarlet, Gray tells me that you have an offer for us. Care to explain what it is a bit further?" Well now, Itami was aware of her rank although not what she actually oversees but it was a start and he needed to keep building on this.

"We're an exploration force that's doing information gathering about this place. Gray says that he's doing something similar and after all that's happened here today, I thought that we can make an alliance between us. So we could both benefit, you know?" The red head thought about it and went into discussion with Gray in their native language, she looked to be arguing about it although it seemed like the ice mage was on board with the idea.

"I've come to a decision, we'll tag along with you and discuss a temporary truce between us. Anything else will have to be settled by representatives from each of our sides." Itami couldn't have hoped for anything better than that, it gives them a chance to win them over.

"That's all I ask for." So far, everything was working out fine and with any luck there'll be good fortune when things have settled. "By the way, what military band are you from?"

"We're with the Fiorean Expeditionary Forces." The captain had never heard of such a thing, but who knows what the future would hold for all of them.

"The FEF and JSDF working together, not bad if I do say so myself." Itami joked, awkwardly chuckling as it landed face first with the reactions he got from Erza and Gray. "In any case, let's mount up people! We're heading to Alnus Hill!"

* * *

A few days had passed since the villagers parted ways with the JSDF and the ice wizard, Gray, where many had found places to stay and work to support themselves. One such survivor had managed to find work in a tavern within the village her relatives were living in, entertaining the guest the best she could until it came to the story of her most recent escapade.

"They drove off a flame dragon!?" A group of men exclaimed in unison at her story about the brave men and women who fought against the terror of the skies.

"Yeah, that's right! I saw it myself!" She replied earnestly, seeing that these drunks were ready to call her ordeal nothing more than a tall tale.

"Bullshit!"

"You can't expect us to believe that, do you?" One of them said as his ale sloshed around in his half empty mug. "Seriously, men in green riding in iron carriages and a prince of ice fighting a fire dragon? You must've been out it!"

"It's true I tell you!" She implored, but she was starting to see that it wasn't going her way anymore.

"Yeah! You sure you didn't just bump your head and had a crazy dream?!" This comment got a barrel of laughs from the surrounding drinkers and the waitress rolled her eyes at the fact that there was no getting through to them.

"Don't believe me, then! See if I care." She huffed as she went off to serve the other tables; however, one table not far off was paying close attention to that story.

Those sitting at this table were dressed in armor, two women and two men who were in search of this mysterious enemy that had wiped the Allied Kingdoms' army along with the dreaded enemy that nearly wiped out all of the Empire's army in the Artisian Valley. They followed many a lead to figure out where this enemy was and along the way, this rumor about a prince and mercenaries in green began to circulate around them. They first heard of it in a small village they passed about a day ago, nothing that seemed remotely true and sounded like a children's story until the next villages they came across began to tell the same story. It was starting to become more fact than fiction at this point and it had the oddest of timings any of the group could have realized.

"What do you think?" One of the knights, a young woman with light brown hair, asked to her blonde ponytailed colleague as he took a sip of his ale.

"What do I think? I think this bar's filthy, the food is terrible and the only thing worse than that are the drinks."

"Norma, we're on a secret reconnaissance mission to Alnus Hill and the Artisian Valley, so focus on her question about the flame dragon." An older man said, his hair already expressing his advanced years as it was all silver.

"Lower your voices, all of you are being too loud." The last of the group, the princess Pina co Lada, finally spoke up as her companions were on the course of letting something slip. "Hamilton, keep going." She commanded as she looked over towards the light brown-haired girl.

"Right. This rumor is spreading like wildfire of mercenaries in green clothes fighting alongside a prince who wields ice magic, a young teenager who can control the very wind and a pink haired man who claims to be a "dragon slayer." It was some of the more prominent points that kept coming up, another claimed that a woman with hair like the Princess' conjured a massive shield that stopped the flames from reaching the villagers. "This all happened as they tried to evacuate the residents of Coda Village and had actually managed to drive off the flame dragon on their own."

"Are they sure it was a flame dragon? A wyvern or drakes or anything could have really been the attacker and have been mistaken for a flame dragon." Norma chimed in as there were a multitude of beasts that were similar to such a dragon, if only smaller in stature by comparison.

"It was a real flame dragon, Sir." The waitress from earlier said as she came by to refill their drinks, Norma merely laughing off her claim.

"You can't fool me!"

"I was there and I saw it with my own two eyes!" Some people had believed her and others let it fly over their heads, but the waitress truly wanted people to know that it actually happened.

"Would you please tell us more about the ones who defeated the flame dragon?" Hamilton saw this as an opportunity to gather more information from the very source, even if she was one of many sources.

"Hmm, oh I don't know. The details aren't so clear to me."

"I believe you." Hamilton said as she offered a copper coin for her cooperation and in an instant, it was swiped from her hand.

"Thank you, young knight! I'll have to tell you a very special story, then. For you to know about what happened the day we were attacked by the flame dragon, you must learn about the arrival of the ones in green with the magic weapons that resembled a great iron cock and later followed by the Prince himself."

Pina listened on to this tale about the warning of the newly awakened flame dragon to what transpired throughout the journey before the flame dragon had actually appeared. From what she was gathering so far, there were three different things she had taken note of; the Foolish Prince that was now being called the Prince of Ice, the Dragon Slayer with pink hair and the mercenaries in green that lead the initial charge against the dragon.

This "Prince" that seemed to be revered would be an interesting individual to speak with if she ever found him, the Dragon Slayer sounded like he'd prove useful as an ally if he already had the strength to tear the limb off a dragon and the ones in green sounded like a suitable link to the mysterious enemies they were chasing down. There was so much she had yet to discover and the dangers grow even more with the flame dragon on the loose, the enemies at both Alnus Hill and the Artisian Valley preparing for future attacks and a surge of bandits roaming the country side. Pina saw this as her sole mission to stop this before the kingdom she loves falls to pieces before her very eyes.


	12. Forces at Play

Forces at Play

"All reports have indicated that villages still intact are miles away from the mapped-out portions of the region we have on hand. It seems that many villages have been destroyed and torched to the ground with no indication of where the inhabitants have gone, Sir." An officer addressed the recent findings from the recon teams to the Supreme Commander, overlooking a minor incident the **Pegasus Squad** and village girls they were involved with. "The searches have found some evidence of other forms of living beings residing in deeper areas of the region, although villagers have cautioned some of the squads about them due to the humanoids living there."

"We'll leave a tab on the matter concerning the humanoids, they're likely to be more intelligent in comparison to the goblins we fought." Jura ordered as the information gathered thus far thanks to Hugo has revealed that the Empire is rather oppressive to non-humans, so appealing to them would prove beneficial. "Any word from Commander Scarlet or Gray? They have yet to report in."

"I'm afraid not Supreme Commander, we haven't got-"

"Supreme Commander, Commander Scarlet is requesting to speak to you on the comm-lac." Another information officer reported, moving the lacrima to the center of Jura's office.

Jura stepped up to it and infused his magic, a bright light blue projection sprung up with the image of Erza standing in it. Her hand up to her ear, notably using the smaller comm-lac to call in, although it seemed that she was occupied with staring off at something not visible to them.

"I can assume you have a direct report to give me Commander Scarlet, else you would've given it to the officer straight away."

 _"Forgive me Supreme Commander, but there is an urgent matter that you must see to with a decision immediately."_ Jura hadn't expected something like that to crop up so soon from the recon teams, but he knew that it had to be serious given to the type of a woman Erza is.

"Very well, report. What have you discovered?"

 _"We engaged the fire dragon I reported to you before, **Fairy Squads Red and Blue** have successfully managed to drive it off and severely wounded it. A third faction has been made contact with, foreigners like no other to the Special Region and technologically advance by comparison. We have established a temporary truce between us, but wish for High Command to establish, if any, a form of peace between us."_

"Interesting, are they a threat to our operations and people here in the Special Region?"

 _"Unsure, their weapons look to be effective against most forms of enemy shielding and their base is vastly equipped with aerial and ground combatants. We may be able to fight them on equal footing if we rely on the higher ranked mages, foot soldiers could see casualties."_

"Are they initially hostile?"

 _"No, Sir. One commanding individual seeks friendship with us after interacting with Gray for some time. I believe they are offering a peace agreement and I've requested that High Command decide on the matter."_

"They must be wishing to avoid having to fight on two fronts as well, best to follow suit. Having allies here will make our mission all the easier to accomplish with more resources at hand." Speaking with the Queen to form an agreement won't be so difficult, the problem lies in the fact that there are more steps than a simple signing of parchment. "I'll notify the Queen about this, we'll send over our people. Please inform Gray to return to base, he'll have to be here to continue his post with the Ambassador."

 _"Yes, Sir. Commander Scarlet, out."_ Erza said and the image faded out as the lacrima powered down, but Jura was quick with his orders not long after.

"Get word to her Highness immediately and get into contact with Gray on specifications I want him to follow." He ordered to both officers who saluted and quickly made their way out of his office.

* * *

Within the throne room, Queen Hisui was overseeing numerous reports of damages, grievances and missing persons reports that her aids believed she had to address in order to get a clearer scope of how badly the attack had left Crocus. She initially received them in the War Room, but her generals and leading officials were so combative about tactics that their argument fueled tendencies had given her a bigger headache than the reports ever did. She ultimately decided to deal with the growing report problem by moving into the throne room and away from the arguments.

Hisui had set up an office like environment within the throne room as the clutter would help no one and just as she reclined on her throne for a short break did a messenger come running in.

"My Queen, a message from Supreme Commander Jura." Hisui made the gesture for him to continue and he began to read aloud Jura's message. "Reconnaissance teams have been set out in the Special Region with varying degrees of contact with the people of the world. Commander Scarlet and her squad have made contact with a fire dragon, succeeding in driving it away from its assault on a fleeing village and have also made contact with a third party of individuals foreign to the Special Region. They have extended a hand in peace and wish to create a non-aggression pact with our forces, Jura seeks further instructions on how to proceed."

"That's perfect, allies will reduce the burden on our forces when the search teams are sent out further. I'll prepare for departure immediately, contact the Magic Council and have them send a viable representative and locate Ambassador Myu as well." Hisui would be glad to leave the castle for a while, even if it was for a major political move but was stopped short by Clara.

"My Queen, I'm afraid you can't do that. The kingdom needs you here, we are still feeling the after effects of the enemy's attack and to have you leave would cause more problems. Not to mention the amount of military personnel we would have to move in order to secure your life while in the Special Region, it would cause chaos." Hisui knew Clara had a point, the ambassador was no older than her but she fought tooth and nail for her current position and knew what appropriate action to take for the time.

"I need to stand for my country and represent it by putting myself forth in any foreign affairs that are likely going to affect us. I've done it with Alvarez and I must do so for this potential ally in the Special Region."

"And I respect that, My Queen, but your predisposition will have another effect if you go into this willingly. The Doves and Hawks are combative as it is with you and myself keeping the balance in check, but the political shift you will cause by this treaty will favor one side based upon our ally's actions." Clara knew that with the way Devonshire and Bauru were, it would only be a matter of time when war stances would be made. Both wanted to secure the captured civilians, but by different means and have caused rifts within the Senate.

"What would you have me do, Clara? I can't just sit at my throne without taking any action like my father had done and as much as I love him, I couldn't stand his lack of initiative at times." Hisui sat on her throne in exasperation, fed up with having to be held back because of her throne as she looked at the muddled Clara until an idea popped into her head.

"Clara, why don't I send you in my place?" The confused expression was enough to tell her that Clara had never considered herself as an option. "You're an equally if not better person for the job, you stood beside me when going through the terms of our treaty with Alvarez and I have faith you'll accomplish just as much in this one as well."

"I'm flattered My Queen, but I can't just leave your side like this with the Senate in the state that it is."

"I can handle them, you're the one I need for this job. Not to mention that you are a recognized debater that has battled both factions before they were factions, so you'll figure out a reasonable bipartisanship with this treaty."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're sending me to the wolves." It made sense what the queen was saying, but Clara wasn't one to really put herself forward in such a position, thinking the last time it would happen was with Alvarez.

"That's politics I'm afraid, but no time for that. You need to go and get ready for the trip, and don't worry about your protection since you'll be going with a Fairy Tail mage and a former Spriggan 12."

"What could ever go wrong?" Clara sarcastically remarked, but was met with a reassuring smile from her queen as she excused herself for her eventful trip into the Special Region.

* * *

In her private quarters given to her by Queen Hisui, Brandish was trying to keep herself even tempered with the recent addition to her operations with Fiore. She had everything under control, information was flowing evenly through towards Alvarez and they haven't suffered a single casualty since the campaign had begun. So what the bikini clad woman was trying to understand was why those pompous windbags in charge of the government felt it best for her to have a more "recognized" bodyguard at her side than the honor guard she chose.

 _"You must understand that your safety is our top priority, you have made it possible to keep relations with Fiore and your multiple trips into that unknown land leaves much to be desired."_ Many of these officials turn into a bland face for Brandish not to be bothered to remember, she just remembers that he was in charge of the Empire's security.

"I don't need to be baby sat by anyone, I have the man who completely mopped the floor with the last person who held your position under my command when I go. I'm fine on my own, besides I'll be the one babysitting her if anything." Their "agent" was going to be a bit of a pain to deal with when it concerned anyone that had met her from before.

 _"We understand your prior relations with the agent we sent, but she is a very powerful mage who fought alongside you as a Spriggan during the conflict. She demanded to be sent over to safeguard your person."_

"And do you understand that she has yet to be cleared by me for active duty outside the Empire and still suffers from a minor psychological trauma after her defeat? I'll keep her at my side, but one screw up and she's being sent back and you will not send another agent to replace her, do I make myself clear?"

The green haired woman knew that those who weren't killed in the fighting had returned to Alvarez and were being rehabilitated into government agents, to help them become more useful individuals but mainly to avoid them spreading Anti-Fiore propaganda amongst the civilians. Brandish wasn't willing to take the chance of this happening to the soldiers because of this agent at her side.

 _"We can't take chances with such limi-"_

"I said; do I make myself clear, Head Chief of Imperial Security?"

 _"...Yes, Lady Myu."_

"Good, I'll send you the regular reports and leading developments at the usual time frame. Brandish out."

"You can't be that mad that I came out all this way for you, Randi. There was so much commotion back home of the things happening here that talk about further exploration could be brought up with the Queen and you might need some help bringing it up."

"No, I don't need help with bringing up future plans on development. I'm well aware that you did this for your own personal reasons Dimaria, but I will not have any funny business on my watch." Brandish scanned the time mage carefully; her skin-tight suit would reveal any movement to Brandish that would give her a reason to keep an eye on her.

She didn't move an inch, didn't react so much as a minor twitch to her words and the green haired woman could trust her to behave...for now. She may have dressed in her old attire, but Brandish could tell that it was her way of trying to relive the old days.

"It was just a suggestion to continue other projects in the Special Region, Randi. Nothing more than that, honest."

"What you don't understand is that everything happening in the Special Region is time limited, some goals can't be done and that's why I'm making sure things move as swift as possible." It was made all too obvious since she came, but it was a matter of understanding that bothered her. "I know what purpose you serve now that you're an agent of the Empire, Dimaria, but know that I'm taking charge of all dealings Alvarez is a part of here in Fiore until this campaign is over."

"Then you know how the Heads are starting to believe that you're overstepping your boundaries as an "ambassador" and want to limit that power." Brandish was one of six Spriggans left alive and only one of two still active as members of the Empire's elite so the people stood behind her, more so because of the treaty. So, support for her was high and she went unquestioned, somewhat, but she always got results. "Obviously they can't do it outright since the people love you, as do the troops, so of course they send someone like me to "bodyguard" you while you're here."

"Of course they would, too simple of a strategy but it's the best they could do given the timing. Whatever, they aren't accomplishing much when it comes to dealings like this and I can't stand their annoying drivel of inaction for long." Brandish wasn't much for being a leader since it involved a lot of work, but being around August and his leadership might have rubbed off on her since this work didn't feel so bothersome as much in recent years.

"The Emperor wishes for you to see eye to eye with them, your attitude makes things hard on him and Yajeel in keeping other officials in line who are vocal of seeing you gone." Sometimes those people are always the ones she had be tasked with "protecting" so it was personal for Dimaria when she heard them wanting to get rid of Brandish for good.

"Ajeel is merely a puppet put in place for the people to have comfort in knowing they have an emperor, it's the Heads who profit from how the country is run and the influence that have over that sand idiot. I won't bend to their wishes and it's by their own ruling I'm here, else I would've personally dealt with the problem a while ago." Brandish knew they didn't like her since she became much more active in politics, but it gave her purpose when she didn't have one.

"I knew it wouldn't be long before even you wanted them gone or even dead, but Invel said that you shouldn't make them out as simpletons since the Heads would try anything to keep their power. He also says hi by the way."

"And I care why? They're only lazy politicians who wish to keep their power while the ones below them are truly running the Empire. As for Invel's words, I could care less for what has to stay. He's stuck in prison until he can accept the reality of the world, now that his loyalty goes to a fallen King and his bid for revenge hasn't led him to an execution yet."

"He just wanted to give you a warning, Randi. Actually, make that two warnings with the second being to be mindful of the monster he created."

"What monster?" Invel was a genius war tactician and strategist, so Brandish didn't assume he was also creating anything on the side while he ran the army.

"Your ice mage bodyguard according to him. Invel's the reason why he's so powerful and cautioned that you need to be aware of his mental state, if he goes over the edge then things will get pretty nasty."

Before Brandish could ask Dimaria to be a bit clearer, a knock came from the door and the woman leading the White Lions (or was it Tigers) came into the room.

"The Queen has asked me to inform you of a recent development. A potential ally in the Special Region has been found and she wishes for you to go alongside her representative to sign a nonaggression pact with them. Gray Fullbuster will be awaiting your arrival at Headquarters, he will be leading the group of representatives to our ally's base."

"Alright, I'll be waiting by my Rhino for her to arrive when we're departing." Brandish replied and watched as the short haired woman bowed her head and left without another word.

"I'm surprised you're not upset with her just coming in like that."

"Enough Dimaria, we need to prepare to leave and I don't want to hear any complaints."

"You got it, Randi."

* * *

Gray did his best to adjust his pauldron while he was awaiting the arrivals of Fiore's representatives, though he was still slightly irked at the fact that he had to explain to Itami for an hour that he would return in time. The entire conversation between them basically revolved around the Japanese man not wanting the ice mage to leave the base and Gray trying to make it apparent that he'd come back to his base. He then spoke with another man in glasses who seemed to be Itami's superior and with some help form Kurokawa's easier pronunciation, Gray finally got his message across that he was needed to guide his representatives.

An accord was made for the base to keep a mindful eye south of the base as their allies were going to be approaching from that direction. With prior knowledge of where they were based at, the JSDF were well aware of their actions and what vehicles would be coming their way. Obviously Gray didn't know that at the time, but he had been informed of an unknown team of scouts watching them from a ridge by Colonel Shiverpeak once he reported in. It wasn't long before he quickly added everything up and figured that Itami's higher ups were well aware of them.

As far as Gray has learned; Itami came from a country called Japan where there is no such thing as magic aside from fictional novels based around it. This gave him pause as it would mean that if they ever found the need to go into Itami's world, hopefully not, they'd be completely defenseless if it weren't for the fact that Gray kept a memento of sorts from Mystogan. The ice mage got a message through that he needed a specific container in his home delivered to him ASAP, it was quickly received by Gramps and Mira had found it in time for it to be transferred over towards Crocus. Gray had no real idea how Mira sent it halfway across the country in less than two days, but was glad she did either way.

It may have been sent in two days, but it's already been a few days since Gray had returned to base and today was the expected arrival date for Brandish and the others. Erza had decided for the squads to remain at the JSDF base until he returned, reporting in anything that was happening at the base which wasn't much at the moment. They had started construction on shelters for the refugees, gotten them bathed and clothed and some had taken an interest in learning about the Japanese and themselves.

A private message between himself and Erza had him discover that she was receiving some odd vibes from Rory as of late, along with her constant interest of Natsu and himself. The red head confided in him that there was something Rory wanted from them and she couldn't find it within herself to trust the petite girl with anything at the moment. Other than that, things were relatively normal with the exception of the Japanese being very curious about the ways their Rhinos functioned without the need for gasoline. That message was pretty much it from Erza that morning with an included side note that she has seen the battlefield on their end and concluded that the JSDF had done an equal amount of damage to the armies here as they did, most likely even more given the size of the army they faced.

He wondered what the Japanese faced when they arrived but his thoughts were drowned out by the knocking at his barrack door, a captain from the Alvarez forces had come to inform him that Lady Brandish was arriving soon. Gray got the message and with a tired sigh, he suited up for his "Lady" with as much enthusiasm as one of Gramps' long lectures.

The ice mage ended the mental recounting of the past days there as he heard the sound of engines approaching and did his best to appear well disciplined, like the soldiers around him. In the same fashion as they day they first arrived, the Rhinos had halted horizontal to the lined Alvarez soldiers with Gray opening the passenger door and offering his hand. He was actually surprised when it was slapped away and came face to face with Dimaria of all people. On instinct, Gray was readying his magic until Brandish called for him to stand down as she emerged right after her.

"If I may, Lady Brandish, why is Dimaria here?" Gray did his best not to show his true feelings about one of the twelve be shown, but Dimaria didn't bother to hide her disgust of the ice mage.

"I'm here because I'll be Randi's bodyguard from now on, Isvani." At her words, the ice mage couldn't deny that he slightly perked up at the idea that he wasn't going to be needed as honor guard anymore but Brandish thought differently.

"No, you will work alongside Gray for my protection. You take orders from me now, so remember where your place is Dimaria." Brandish didn't want to be harsh with the golden haired woman but her behavior was much harder to control and a tight hold of her was needed. "Gray, keep the engine running since we'll leave as soon as we're done speaking with Baldie."

"Understood, Lady Brandish." He replied as she and Dimaria began to walk away, leaving the ice mage to help the other woman they were leaving behind down from the Rhino.

"Not ten minutes into this world and I've already got a bad feeling about this." The woman complained as she gladly took Gray's assistance. "I'm guessing you've already gotten used to it?"

"Fighting a dragon will do that to you, Ambassador. The Supreme Commander's quarters are in the direction Lady Brandish is going." Gray directed her and with a simple nod did she follow after the two, soon flanked by a Fiorean soldier who noticed her going in the wrong direction soon after.

"It seems you've got yourself in quite an interesting position, huh Gray?" The ice mage turned to see the final ambassador exit the second Rhino, surprising him with his appearance here in the Special Region.

"So you returned to the Magic Council, Mest. I was wondering what you were doing since you quit Fairy Tail." After the smoke had settled and Magnolia was back on its feet, Mest asked Gramps to remove his guild mark and made the decision to quit Fairy Tail. Gray never really understood why he decided to leave, but he learned that there was bad blood between him and another member.

"I did and it's Doranbolt again, Doranbolt Gryder. Given my past work with the Council and what I've managed to do, they felt that I was a good candidate to represent them since Councilor Jura wouldn't be able to leave his post." Doranbolt was glad to see Gray first, he was once face that didn't hate to see him the second they locked eyes. It was the least the warp mage could get from his old guild.

"I see, well let's hope you've got what it takes to be a representative in the Special Region." Gray joked, but was confident he could hold his own without problem aside from his worried state when he got down after Brandish left.

"Trust me, I'll do my best. Oh, and I also have a delivery for you. Mirajane contacted me about you needing this fast." Doranbolt handed over the vile filled with black orbs and an x on it towards the ice mage, curious as to its actual purpose.

"Thank you Mira and you too, this will come in handy when the need arrives." One less thing for Gray to worry about, for now it was going to be Brandish's temper during the talks.

"What is it anyways, some sort of medication?"

"Insurance more like it, since you never know what'll happen." Gray left it at that and had also instructed him of where to go to meet with the Supreme Commander before they headed out to the JSDF base.

"We'll be boarding the Rhino's now, Sir. Lady Myu has asked for Omega and Theta squads to ride with the Magic Council representative, while Alpha squad will ride with you." A lieutenant reported to Gray who nodded in response, storing the vial away in an inventory pouch on his belt.

The ice mage was aware that Brandish had negative dealings with Doranbolt in the past, so he could assume that she hasn't gotten over it and wanted to keep away from him as much as possible. Gray could only sigh to himself at how much he had been tasked to look after; top priority was to protect the Queen's representative at all costs followed by a tight control over Brandish's temper. Jura wanted him to keep a close eye on her for the many reasons concerning her attitude towards those who question and annoy her. It was going to be a long meeting, one he has hopes of being a one and done deal.

He kept to himself while he waited for them to return, trying his best not to interact at all with Dimaria who seemed rather nervous since she returned from Jura's office once they did. He could only wonder what had her spooked so much, but Gray thought better than to keep his focus on the golden haired woman's discomfort. Luckily for him, she was seated at the rear of the Rhino while Brandish took her spot at the passenger's seat and Clara Greybourne sat behind her. One last check of the Rhinos and gear before they were off, most everyone aside from Gray held a sense of discomfort as the base grew smaller from view. The troops kept their cool, Brandish made herself look indifferent about it while Clara visibly was shaken at how anything remotely familiar began to fade into the horizon.

"Everything will be fine, Ambassador Greybourne. The roads are relatively safe during the day and with the JSDF in the region, I'm sure they've taken care of anything that would be a threat to them." Gray tried to ease her into this journey since he knew it wouldn't do them good to have a jumpy representative at the talks.

"Yes, you're right...Anyone moving a military force would want to secure their lands." In truth, Clara had never been outside of Fiore in her life as most talks would be held in the kingdom. "So, these allies you've made. The..."

"The JSDF"

"Right, the JSDF, do you have any information about them that we should know about?"

"They're a defense force, from an island country called Japan that had been deployed in retaliation of an attack on one of their cities. That's about all there is to it for now anyway, I made contact with one of their recon teams lead by a man named Yoji Itami who told me this while my team was in their base."

"I would've thought that someone with your skills would manage to get a little more information than that Gray." Brandish jabbed and Gray rolled his eyes in response, trying not to justify it as Itami was tight lipped about anything else concerning their stay in the Special Region.

"That's what you three will have to learn on your own after all, I'll be there to find out too since I'll be an interpreter for you. Hopefully someone there has improved their Old Fiorean or whatever it's called here." It's been a few days so surely someone would have been tasked to try to understand the language better for the representatives.

Gray would have made another comment if the flashing lacrima on the dashboard hadn't taken his attention and with a fick of his wrist, he sent magic through it to receive the communication. The blue projection that sprung up was that of an information officer as he looked through one of the recent reports for them to receive.

 _"News from Commander Scarlet; she unfortunately will not be there to greet you upon your arrival to the JSDF base. She will continue her mission and be making her way towards one of the Region's central trade hubs; a city called Italica. Continue your orders as advised and follow instructions given by the ambassadors, HQ signing off."_

"You hear that Dimaria, Pinky won't be there when we arrive. In any case, it might make it easier for them to have us in their base. Having that many powerhouses in one place that have yet to join your side would disturb anyone." Brandish commented although Gray hadn't really told the JSDF to what extent their magic could reach; Natsu, Wendy and himself were already spoken for after the fight with the dragon but not Erza and least of all Brandish.

"Their absence won't interfere with the talks so it's fine if they continue their mission. I just want to get underway since these things do take time, if you remember Ambassador Myu." Clara was with the Queen for months trying to iron out as much of the treaty as they could, so this one had to be done in as little time as possible.

"They seem to be agreeable people, I'm sure you'll come to an agreement in no time." Gray commented as he internally hoped Brandish's mood doesn't sour while there too much. "We'll be at the base soon enough, so just enjoy the scenery in the meantime."

Time had passed since Gray said that and was thankful that the base was coming into view as Dimaria had proven to him that she'd make his job much harder. With simple gestures, glances and bits of conversation did she manage to gain the ire of Brandish who was already growing impatient with the drive to top it all off. A part of him grew a bit worried when their guns were trained on them as they approached, but were later lowered as they became clearer to see. That's what he told himself anyways since the other plausible explanation is that they weren't about to welcome powerful strangers with open arms from the get-go.

Once inside, they were led to a small clearing where they were allowed to park their Rhinos and the first one down had obviously been Gray to show that he had returned as promised to Itami. Not long after he made his way towards Brandish's door did the rest of the Alvarez squads hopped down and formed a perimeter around the Rhino. This automatically drew attention from the Japanese soldiers as they watched three squad's worth of heavily armored and armed troops guard one vehicle. As disciplined as the Japanese troops were, they couldn't avert their curious stares anymore once Brandish stepped off the Rhino and the ice mage couldn't really blame them. Strangers turn up at their base fully armed and out of all this militaristic show comes down a fair skinned woman clad in just a bikini and an overcoat.

If they wanted to make a grand entrance, basic protocol for the Alvarez military sure had done it for them. Gray helped Clara get down and automatically went away as Dimaria was about to get down to focus his attention in search of Itami. The ice mage had thought that he'd be greeted by said man on his arrival, but the same man who looked to be scolding Itami on his last visit came up to them instead. It was surprising at first when he spoke to Gray in Old Fiorean, heavily accented but clear enough to understand, with word that Itami had left with his companions to Italica as well. It didn't bode well for Gray since it meant that Kurokawa had left as well, although Gray held out hope that this man, Akira Yanagida as he introduced himself a bit earlier, would be at the talks as a translator.

Yanagida led them towards one of the more guarded buildings within the base, asking that the soldiers they had arrived with be left outside while the representatives continued on inside. The Alvarez troops begrudgingly accepted their orders from Brandish to wait and there had been a bit of a stare off between Gray and Yanagida as the ice mage followed behind Doranbolt. The ice mage had the distinct feeling he was expecting him to wait outside as well, but there wasn't going to be a chance of him being kept out. He seemed to sigh to himself before adjusting his glasses and went on to lead them through the halls before stopping in front of a meeting door. As they entered, an older man who sat alongside a few other officers rose to his feet while everyone began to file in.

"You must be the representatives of the Fiorean Expeditionary Force, a pleasure to meet you. I am Lieutenant General Koichiro Hazama. I know we can find common ground to help one another in our time within the Special Region." He began in which Yanagida translated once he finished and thus Gray translated back towards the others.

Clara and Doranbolt bowed as Gray translated their introduction and for whom they'd be representing during the talks. The Japanese were interested at each representative; Clara being the direct line towards Fiore's very own queen and Doranbolt for being the connection to the highest order of magical authority that held power over many magic wielders of their world. Brandish on the other hand gave a curt nod as she introduced herself as the ambassador to Fiore's allied nation of Alvarez. It was pretty apparent that the officers in the room were quite curious as to her choice of attire for such an important matter, though none made the effort to question it out loud. Dimaria looked away in boredom and in the end, Brandish had to introduce her since she wasn't going to speak to anyone in which of course Gray was the one to introduce her soon after.

Introductions went around the room and it became obvious that the only ones to really understand the conversations to its fullest would be the translators for each side, meaning Gray and Yanagida would be doing just as much talking for each side. Everyone had taken their seats by this point, but Brandish made it clear that she wanted Gray to stand behind her and when asked about it, she gave the simple reply that she wanted to appear in control. The ice mage had to agree that she had a point, but he wasn't a fan of being used as such a tool to express one's own aptitude.

"I want to begin by saying that we are honored to have you here with us, one of our own had made the initial gesture of extending our hand in friendship with you and we would like to formally establish that friendship." Yanagida translated the lieutenant general's words as Gray did so in turn and came to the realization that the conversation would only hold its form in the dialect of the Special Region.

"We appreciate the gesture and come in good faith to become allies for the time that we shall spend in the Special Region. The Queen of Fiore wishes to apologize in advance for being unable to meet you in person herself as the kingdom needs her the most in this crucial time." Yanagida's assumptions of Clara being the one leading the conversation for her side was spot on as she was the closest to the queen.

"That is quite fine, we wish nothing more than for us to have peace between our peoples and avoid any form of bloodshed aside of that from our common enemy."

"The Empire that rules over the region, correct? There is much we can discuss about the matter, given that you too have something to share."

"We do, but to continue with such a conversation and share of information, we must establish a treaty to solidify our positions as allies." Yanagida translated and watched the as Gray's face became conflicted when the bikini woman, Brandish, began to speak up in that regard.

It seemed that whatever she said had given them all pause; the conversation was flowing fine until this moment and now the visitors were beginning to argue with each other. The lieutenant wondered if he had mistranslated a phrase and had not come out as peacefully as he thought it did. The man, Doranbolt, seemed to have given it enough thought that he was agreeing with whatever she had said and soon the other woman had inevitably agreed. Yanagida could tell she wasn't in favor of this and so was Gray as he began to translate Brandish's words.

"If you have terms to this alliance, we will review them and agree upon the conditions that also benefit us as well. Though we must warn you, if we sense that this is threatening to our best interests then we will dissolve the alliance immediately. Fair warning that you should not make an enemy of us, we will not falter in our goal and will stop at nothing to achieve it."

"So it seems that you are dead set on this decision, we would try to dissuade from it although it is clear that it would be a fruitless effort. We are of two worlds held together by this one, our ties to one another only run as deep as our objectives are still centered within the Special Region. We concede to your wishes, but on the grounds that we are all at agreement upon. Also, in response to your claim, we too will be ready and willing to retaliate if need be."

Yanagida wanted to question the decision in allowing the talks to proceed even further after their blatant threat, but held his tongue. The lieutenant general was a man wise beyond his years and the bespectacled man believed there was a specific reason for his actions, hypothesizing that it had something to do with the way the general and Brandish stared each other down. Gray and his group seemed like good people but this woman spelt trouble in the corners of his mind, what's more was the fact that the ice mage seemed to be taking orders from her. She had importance, but it seemed that Gray was much more alert in her presence than he had been when he first arrived. It begged the question if her protection was of his utmost concern or if she was the real threat.

"It seems we're all on the same page, then let's go on to the finer details." As Gray translated the green haired woman's words, his thoughts moved one to his expectations of Brandish not pulling her punches, but hadn't expected her to make such a bold claim. "Each of us are in possession of powerful abilities and as we pool them together, we become an unstoppable force that will achieve its goal."

"We would not have made the proposition if we did not believe in your many talents." Yanagida felt troubled that Brandish had taken control of the conversation, worse still was that he could tell that she was one of those more ruthless political types with more power than he'd like. "I think the more pressing matter is information. We can easily supply each other with what knowledge we have now and whatever we may discover in the future."

"We believe that would suffice; any information based upon the people living here to diseases would be appreciated. In turn, we'll assist you with our magical knowledge and military when required." The best the FEF could give them was the military support, in Gray's opinion, since they had no real use surrounding magic since their world hasn't a shred of it to begin with.

"Your military support is welcomed, but magic may not be an investment we can agree upon as most magic we have come across has paled against the might of our weapons. Knowledge about the arts is appreciated, but I can't see our government officials finding a use for it back home." Yanagida watched as Gray translated his words and was surprised as he quickly stepped forward to lower Brandish's hand, he didn't need to be a mind reader to tell that she wasn't pleased about the comments of magic.

"Lady Brandish wishes for you to understand that magic is playing a key role at this very moment. Your sciences may be far more advanced than ours, and certainly that of the Special Region as well, but magic is the only reason you know of this place."

"We can summarize that the Gate was created by such power, so warnings of magic playing a hand in all this is nothing new. Many on the other hand have yet to truly commit themselves to the idea that magic is connecting our worlds."

"She had guessed as much, but Lady Brandish believes that you don't truly understand the scope of the power in summoning the Gate. To us, its capable of existing since magic in our world is bountiful; however, your world doesn't possess any signs of magic and yet the Gate appeared. Something with tremendous magical power opened the Gate to your world for a purpose we don't know of, but in time we will."

"Research is underway on the composition of the Gate and soon our government will be able to discover what secrets it holds. Knowledge will come in time, so we must remain patient."

"Lady Brandish has more to say about and as a show of honoring the treaty we are establishing; she wishes to give you this information now in good faith. The Gate was summoned by a being with great magical power, though the troubling reality comes in the form of when will the being who summoned the Gate begin to feel the strain of keeping two gates open before closing one or even both of them."

It was a thought the ice mage wanted to keep to himself since transportation magic alone causes the user to expend quantities of magic depending on the distance. He thought back to the Eclipse Gate and how it took the accumulation of several years of magic from the strongest mages around to open a gateway into the past just for a few hours. Going off that, Gray could only wonder how much magic is being used to keep the Gates open now that it was nearing a month since they appeared. Not to mention opening to a world devoid of magic and leaving it open for this long, if not longer.

After Yanagida translated the last words, Gray had noticed a few of the faces paling now that they understood that there is the chance they'll be stuck in this world. The Japanese officers spoke to each other in quite surprise and hints of fear from what Gray heard, but anyone would be that way if you were left behind and stuck in this world for who knows how long before the Gate opens up again. Many were jittery at the news, Clara was no different either at the revelation and it all the hushed talking was silenced as the general spoke up.

"Lieutenant General Hazama is grateful for this information and wishes to know how much time is left before the Gate closes." Yanagida watched as Doranbolt shook his head and then awkwardly turned to Brandish who sighed before speaking to Gray.

"We are unsure at the moment, could be days, weeks or months, but we are certain that a time will come when it will close. The representatives understand that there is much to discuss, but have faith that this information shows you that we are willing to form this alliance given our previous words of retaliation." The entire conversation so far seemed so weird and things felt out of place, but Gray was never in a peace treaty talk before so he had no idea if this was normal or not. "We'll also notify you of any changes in magic composition of the Gate."

"The Lieutenant General understands your reservations, especially when forming alliances with people from other worlds. He sees a future with both our forces working with each other and wishes to speak about the treaty further in detail." Hazama stood up when Yanagida finished speaking and extended his hand out to the FEF representatives, awaiting the FEF to react with Clara taking the lead and shaking it in turn.

Gray could tell that this was going to be the start of something big, he just prayed that things wouldn't get out of hand for him with whatever he had to translate soon. Then there was the part of him that thought about his friends and wondered how they're fairing on their trip to the trade city of Italica. The ice mage hoping they weren't going to have too much fun without him.


	13. Battle of Italica - Prologue

Battle of Italica: Prologue

"Myuute, I told you to use your magic to assist my men! You're worthless demi-trash just standing back here, what use are you if you can't help us to combat this fledgling resistance!" A commanding bandit shouted as his forces were losing ground and were being forced away from the entrance of Italica.

The initial raid on the city was easy pickings for his men, enough food and supplies to last for a few days, but they wanted more. They wanted and craved battle, the like of which was denied to them on their assault of Alnus Hill. The second attack should've gone like the first, but this time the civilians were being led by the princess and somehow managed to repel them when they outnumbered their resistance three to one. Now on their third assault, they barely managed a small group through the gates before his forces were being shoved right back out and were losing ground fast.

"That bitch managed to regain control of the ramparts!" The bandit commander knew his forces wouldn't last now that she had the high ground and the latest attacks she's thrown were causing chaos within his ranks. "Retreat!"

His order was relayed across the battlefield as his men scurried away back into the forests, him riding away on his horse leaving Myuute to ran after him like everyone else. Though he knew that he was wearing down the princess and her forces and it wouldn't be long before her forces fell beneath the blades of his men. He got one more glimpse behind him to see the bright red hair of the princess wave in the wind atop of the towers, vowing to himself that she would become his conquest while her people were slaughtered around her.

While he rode off in defeat, Princess Pina Co Lada sighed a breath of relief as the remainder of his forces began to shrink into the horizon and was glad the ordeal was over for now. She hadn't expected to face such overwhelming odds and it was a miracle that the city's forces and civilians managed to hold out for this long. She prayed to the gods that her Knights would arrive sooner because she had no real idea how long they'd last if the attacks remain the same. Such thoughts clouded her mind, but she had to make sure her people were still alive.

"Hamilton, Norma are you alright!" She called down from her tower, overlooking the countless number of dead bandits that had managed to pass through the gate.

"Alive and accounted for Princess!" Hamilton called out as she sat on the floor, completely exhausted after fighting bandit after bandit at the barricades, while Norma gave a meek wave trying to hold himself up with the barricade.

"As uncaring as ever Princess, you didn't bother finding out if I was alive." Grey joked as Pina made her way down from the ramparts, a relieved smile on her face as she made it to ground level.

"After all these years, I know you wouldn't fall at the hands of a bunch of bandits, Grey." Pina replied and the older knight laughed in response to her words.

"Too true Princess, we'll take care of clean up here. Best that you make your way up to the Mistress' estate to rest up for the next battle." Grey suggested and Pina often took his words as wise decisions, it would do her no good if she were too tired to wield her blade.

"Fine then, separate the bodies and burn the bandit ones. We'll bury the fallen at another time once this is all over. Hamilton, come with me." Pina commanded and those who still had energy left began to work as she and the brown haired knight made their through the city for the estate.

Hamilton walked behind her princess, her mind muddled with thoughts now that she wasn't fighting for survival and only one persistent question came to mind. It had all the reason to do with them coming to Italica over searching for more clues about the whereabouts of the two factions that decimated the Imperial army and the Allied Nations army. She wanted to word this to the best of her abilities as she knew her princess was at the point that she wouldn't mince words anymore for the sake of manners. Afterall, she did kill a number of bandits for the purpose of holding the ramparts. As they made their way up the steps towards the estate, the young knight found it to be the best time to ask her this question before it was too late.

"Your Highness, why are we out here in Italica fighting hordes of bloodthirsty bandits instead of our mission?"

"Because we didn't have a choice!" Pina exclaimed, surprising both Hamilton and the group of militiamen around them with her loud response. "They raised the alarm that an armed force was trying to storm the walls and I had thought that it was the army we were looking for from the otherworld. We came to their aid like we were supposed to and what do we find?

"Soldiers from the Allied Nations all turned rogue attacking these people!" Pina clenched her teeth in anger of who was her enemy and turned to face those around her. "All of you listen to me, we don't have time to lie about! The bandits will return, so bury the bodies and reinforce the gates! The rest of my people are coming to aid us, but they are still three days away so we must hold out until then. We need only to hold out, after that the Order of the Rose will avenge your fallen in battle!"

Pina turned away after that and marched her way to the estate, Hamilton quickly following behind her in silence as she could tell that this was weighing on her princess heavily. Once inside, Hamilton excused herself and Pina found the opportunity to get out of her armor for a brief reprise from battle. She sat herself within the main parlor in exhaustion from the past day as one of the Mistress' advisors came up to her.

"Your Highness, if I may?"

"Go on, what is it? Are you surrendering?"

"Of course not, still... I'm hoping there's a way we can end all this fighting without further bloodshed." He had been an advisor to the family for many years and day by day, he had to witness the amount of dead piling up. People he helped govern going to waste away in a coffin once the fighting stops.

"Well there is a way, you simply open the gates and let all those bandits in. After that, prepare to have everything taken, let your men be shackled and thrown into slavery, your woman raped and allow them to make every decision for you. That's the way to stop the fighting." She didn't miss a single beat in her explanation and once she finished, she took a sip of her wine.

"You speak so coldly, Your Highness."

"Of course I do, I'm trying to make a point." She swirled her wine in her cup at the thought of it all occurring right down to the letter. "Once you surrender, then you lose everything." A minor silence befell them until the parlor doors briefly opened as someone came in.

"I hope you enjoy." Came the voice of the Head Maid, bringing a serving platter with only a bowl of porridge and two slices of bread.

Pina looked at the platter with mixed feelings, picking up a slice of bread and taking a simple bite. She frowned at the bland taste it had, immediately coming to the conclusion that the porridge wouldn't fare any better to satiate her appetite.

"It completely lacks in flavor and isn't sufficient for me." Pina commented and the Head Maid merely closed her eyes as she responded.

"When one is physically exhausted, eating enriched food could actually have a negative impact in shutting the body down." She said in a matter-of-fact tone and Pina looked questioningly at her.

"Really, you've dealt with such a situation before?"

"Of course your Highness, I'm a native of the City of Rosa which to this day is a loyal part of the Empire." She replied and Pina could feel the sarcastic tone of her voice, but couldn't call her out on it as it was a bloody conquer of the people there.

"Very well..." She said dejectedly, knowing of the horrors that took place during the battle and went about to eating the served meal.

She took her time to eat as the advisor and Head Maid stood by in silence, allowing her to be left to her thoughts as she ate. Pina did her best to let the silence surround her, trying her utmost to avoid her personal worries at the idea of failing to protect the city.

"I'll be resting in your guest room, bring me any urgent news immediately." She ordered, making her way towards the door only stopping to ask the Head Maid one last question. "What do you plan to do if I don't wake at your calls?"

"I have an ice-cold pitcher of water at the ready if you do not rouse from your slumber, your Highness."

"Hmm, that will do nicely." Pina commented as he made her way out of the room and into the guest room.

She stripped down her under garments and laid on the available bed, draping the bed sheet over her body. She wanted to rest, but her body refused to relax as she began to recount the days past and the current condition of the city now that it has entered its third straight day of battle. Her mind wandered through the many images that have imbedded themselves into her mind of the many bodies, blood and tears that she witnessed her first night in the city.

"We're running low on true soldiers; the more experience and brave fighters are the first to die on the front lines and morale keeps dropping." Pina mumbled to herself, gripping the bed sheet within her fist as her anger began to pour out. "My first battle as a knight should've been glorious, not this pathetic defense against such numbers. What was all that training for if it led me to this?"

Pina closed her eye in a bid to stop herself from letting her emotions run wild and as time passed, she felt herself fading. The world around her began to grow quiet and the faint chirping of birds began to zone out as she began to fall asleep. Her body finally began to relax as her aching muscles found a way to ease their tension and as the sights of the ceiling faded to the black nothingness of sleep, Pina could have sworn she heard her younger self shouting drill commands. Her dreamscape had taken her to a time that really meant something for her, to the time that the tales of the War Maidens truly motivated her and made her believe that women, too, can be brave knights.

Pina saw her fledgling Rose Order made up of only herself and six other girls from the esteemed court come together and train to be knights under the teachings of Sir Grey Co Aldo. She watched them all grow and improve in their skills with weapons, drills and combat tactics until that fateful day she realized that her father saw her order as nothing more than an ornament to his parades. She did everything in her power to prove that her knights were ready for actual fighting like all the other orders and then came the day her father chose them to locate the people from the otherworld. This was what Pina had been waiting for, the chance to prove herself to her father and just like that the dreamscape came crashing down as she found herself surrounded by bodies, a city on fire and a shadow army before her.

Pina awoke with a rush as she felt the cold-water splash around her, looking up at Grey and the Head Maid in urgency as she looked for her clothes. All the while exclaiming that the enemy has returned, but was slowed down by the Head Maid since Pina was still entangled with the bed sheets.

"The enemy force isn't in sight, but something has been sighted. We aren't certain to what's going on out there, but you should come take a look at this."

Grey and Pina made their way towards the entrance the last battle had taken place as militiamen took their positions. Norma and Hamilton had been watching the road awaiting the arrival of the strange carriages from the peephole of the main door. They have yet to see anything since word came about, but have been ever vigilant of any differences on the horizon.

"The tower spotters noticed them making their way here; five metal carriages that weren't being pulled by any horses. Three of them are green while the other two are both gray and black." Grey informed as Pina made her way to the peephole. "What are your orders?"

"Aside from the fact that they said the carriages were moving without horses, we need to see them in person. For now, we'll wait and see. If they're allied with the bandits, than we strike hard and fast."

"If they aren't?"

"Then let's hope we can persuade them into joining us in the upcoming fight. Gods know we'll need every hand we can get."


	14. Battle of Italica Pt I

Battle of Italica Pt. I

Pina calmed herself as the carriages came into view, trying her best not to be awestruck at the fact that they were armored in iron. Norma had gone up onto the ramparts to view them from above, though Hamilton argued that he shouldn't expose himself before they had a strategy. Pina tried to make sense of it all as her mind raced with many questions, so Grey took it upon himself to assist her with orders.

"Norma, get them to reveal themselves. Nothing will get done if we stay hidden from each other." Pina turned to face Grey for giving orders without her command, but stopped short after her first word as the blonde knight called out loudly.

"You in the carriages, identify yourselves! If you are not our enemies, then come out into the open!" Pina turned back towards the peephole as Hamilton tried to squeeze in a look and Grey watched from over their shoulders at the newcomers.

The three watched as the first form came into view, a short girl with blue hair although what struck Pina the most was the fact that she was wielding a distinctive staff. She commented how a certain order of mages, the Lindon, were the users and would've continued if not for the sunny bright blonde hair that emerged after her. Hamilton gasped as an elf came to stand next her, worrying Pina as magecraft and spirit magic would spell ruin for their forces. It only got worse as Pina paled at the sight of the person who followed after the elf, someone she would never have dreamed of clashing swords with.

"Rory Mercury!" Her shock was enough to tell her companion that it was all bad news at this point, and the red-haired princess knew that they were utterly powerless against the might of the demi-goddess.

"So that's Rory the Reaper? Do you think an Apostle of Emroy would really align themselves with a band of brigands?" Grey found it hard to believe that the famous reaper would do such a thing, more or less have a goal in mind for cooperating with scum. At best, they could only offer her the souls of the fallen although who knew how long an alliance based on that would last.

"Knowing that bunch, it doesn't surprise me. Their acts are almost based on a whim, not very structured but simply a means to find involvement in something in the world of mortals." Pina replied as they began to walk towards the entrance, hoping against all odds of figuring out a way against all that. "It doesn't matter much to me; their words are baseless and no more than nonsense from the god they follow."

"I heard nothing of the sort!" Although his princess seemed to hold no fear to the Chaos God Emroy, Grey was stout believer and would not dare to sully the name as a warrior.

"Princess Pina, what should we do?" Hamilton asked as Pina looked to her and then out towards the rag tag militia standing at the ready near the barriers.

"If the church that Rory belongs to had allied themselves with the bandits, then Italica would have been lost long ago," She confided to Hamilton, bringing her in close to avoid having the public hear her words. "Rory stands outside the gate and there is no hard proof that she isn't our enemy."

Just then the entrance was knocked on hard, eliciting a small squeal of surprise from Pina who took only a moment to steel herself. She had to bet on all hopes that her decision was for the best now that they had arrived at the door. With a surge of energy, she began to remove the barricades holding back the door as fast as she could.

"If they are not enemies, then we have to get them on our side!" She claimed as she used all her strength to push open the heavy door that swung wide open with Pina putting on a beaming smile. "Welcome!"

As her eyes adjusted to the brightness from the sun, she was met with curious gazes from the three girls she had seen, but she hadn't been expecting the joyous laughter that came from a pink haired young man that was accompanying them. Pina was confused with the sight before her as she moved her gaze downward to see a man dressed in strange green clothing writhing ever so lightly on the floor. The princess nervously laughed as the dots began to connect in her head to the events leading up to this moment, but still she braved to ask the obvious question.

"Was that...my doing?" In unison all the visitors nodded their head in confirmation and Pina felt her whole world spin at what she had just done, not paying mind to the strange language coming from the small black box on the man's chest.

It wasn't long before she apologized, asking that they bring him inside to treat him soon after and as she was going to get Grey to help carry him did the pink haired young man sling him over his shoulder effortlessly. He continued to laugh as he carried him inside with the girls following after him, Pina trying her hardest not to look embarrassed as they passed and was about to close the door when a woman with hair as red as hers came running up to join them. Pina had let her in as well, but she couldn't avert her eyes at how beautiful she looked and the shine off her armor that was designed in a way unlike any that she's ever seen before.

Once inside and the knocked-out man was placed onto the floor, did Pina then begin getting an earful from the elf. The princess had not expected that at all as the elf girl began to fiddle with the man's belt to pull out some sort of container with a lid.

"What were you thinking!? You didn't realize someone might be in front of the door!?" The elf said as she uncapped the container and began pouring water over the man's face, all the while looking at Pina very disapprovingly. "Even a dwarf or fairy would've been more careful! Not checking makes you worse than a goblin!"

Pina took the verbal reprimand as best she could, flinching slightly at how harsh the elf's words were. She looked as apologetically as she could, taking notice of how Rory had placed the man's head on her lap and hovered her head over his.

"Oh, you're awake." Rory said before the man shot up with a start, commenting on how they were let in.

Pina nervously watched as the man in green began to speak in a strange language into a small black box on his chest, while the man with the pink hair was busy speaking with the armored woman. She was a major oddity to her as the princess was never aware of another female knight that existed in the kingdom outside of her Rose Order. Though she felt more distinguished than any one of her knights, as if she was a hardened veteran just like Grey was even though she didn't look much older than herself.

"So, anyone going to explain what's happening here?" The man in green spoke up, drawing everyone's attention before the crowd all turned to face the princess.

"Wait...Me!?" She was put on the spot and her words caught in her throat, the strangers wanting information was to be expected but she wasn't ready to outright plead them to join their side in front of her subjects.

"You impudent fools! This is an affront to the Third Imperial Princess, Pina Co Lada!" Hamilton came to her princess' aid as the common folk were to take it upon themselves to explain for Her Highness.

"Imperial Princess?" Pina heard the pink haired man mimic and watched as the joyful demeanor he sported for so long vanish in an instant.

The bright smile he had morphed into a sneer, his innocent eyes sharpened into a glare and it was if his entire aura of peace was replaced with something malicious. Pina felt a grave chill run up her spine as she locked eyes with the pink haired new comer, no longer the smiling young man that walked through the door but instead a vicious beast readying to tear her apart piece by piece.

The only reason she was snapped back into reality and away from the growing fear was thanks to the armored woman who moved in front of him, calming him down with a simple glare. Pina took the opportunity to instruct the group to follow her. It took some time before anyone would start walking, but luckily the man in green ventured forward as the rest followed after him. Pina was completely nervous, closer to afraid, of the pink haired young man that she almost felt herself breeze past the many streets and stairway towards the Countess' Manor.

As they made their way inside, the princess knew it was best for her to enlighten the newcomers as they had asked earlier, especially if she was going to ask for their help. She just hoped the pink haired stranger didn't make it an impossible trial for her.

"As you may already know, this is the fortress city of Italica. The city is strategically standing at the intersection of the Tessaria and Appia highways, becoming a major commercial hub for the Empire. It's been run by generations of counts of Formar who are nobility of the Empire." Pina began as she began leading the group through a series of hallways, passing a few studies and parlors along the way.

"Though that streak is on the brink of destruction as the former count had died suddenly of illness, leaving behind three daughters that have been caught in a power struggle for his position. The eldest and middle daughters were already married into other families, making their bids to fill the position shift towards which sister would take guardianship over the rightful heir of the count's position; the youngest sister, Myui." Pina paused to allow the group to digest the information catching onto a snippet of the conversation the mage was having with the man in green about understanding all that she had just said.

"When the Imperial Council deemed it time for our forces to cross the Gates, every noble household was required to send the heads of every family to the battles. The end result was that none returned and the security of the Empire began deteriorating rapidly, landing us in our current predicament of being unable to effectively defend the city." Pina finished as she stood before a pair of doors stating that beyond them was the current ruler of Italica.

The group looked upon the Countess of Formar, a small young girl with orange hair with her stature being emphasized by the large wooden throne she sat upon. Her pink garments a few inches off the ground, where her blue heels could be seen as she couldn't quite reach the floor just yet.

"A kid?" Pina heard the pink one's voice say aloud to be answered swiftly by the mage that she would be turning eleven as of this year, which he followed by whistling in surprise. "Talk about bad politics, they just put the whole world on her shoulders."

"Be silent, Natsu."

"In any case, while Myui is the head of the family, it's too much to ask of her to lead an army. As such, I'm taking command in her stead of all of the city's forces." Pina got a few interested stares from the group and as expected from the pink one, Natsu as she had to assume, he was unimpressed although that was better than the death glare he had given her.

"Very honorable of you to take on such a role," the red haired knight spoke up and a part of Pina felt humbled by her words for some reason, "though with your current standing, it seems most of your forces consist of militiamen. Where are all the soldiers?"

"Most of the more skilled fighters have already perished in the fighting since we've arrived to help, we are making do with what fighting force we have before my forces arrive." If Pina could play her words right, the strangers would see that they were in dire need of help and it would be easier to convince them to help. "Refreshments are in the next room, let's discuss things there for now."

The group moved into the adjoined parlor guests would typically wait in when meeting the Count and the head maid began serving drinks for the newcomers, all but Natsu had taken a seat and the princess was just glad he decided to stand near the window. What bothered her though was that he was behind Countess Myui and she feared what he would do if the talks would corrode faster than what she had planned them to. She calmed her thoughts to the best of her abilities and sat across from the group with Hamilton taking a seat to her right.

"As I was saying, my forces are still three days out and the bandits we've been fighting are growing more and more bold. I fear that my forces will arrive too late to be of any assistance of what may be left of Italica."

"Has it been that difficult for you to defend the gates? Surely you should have some sort of military outpost you can contact to come to your aid." Itami offered, but the strained expression of the princess' face was telling a bad story.

"There was one no more than a day's march, we sent a messenger out there to explain our situation and we received our answer the following night." Hamilton answered and Pina nodded for her to continue when the short knight gave a look for her approval. "The horse he went off on returned, dragging what was left of the body and his head was found in the knapsack attached to the saddle. It was obvious to us that the outpost had been overrun by the bandits and now we're on our own."

"In our current state, we'd like to ask you if you'd be willing to help us." Pina asked as everyone faced the man in green save for Natsu who looked towards the red haired knight. "If you do agree to help us, we can come to a mutual agreement of showing our gratitude at the end of the battle."

"We'll help you." Pina was surprised at the quick response he gave her, expecting to coerce him in some other manner she'd have to make Hamilton do for him for all their sakes. "I mean we can't exactly sell all these scales we brought if there's no place to sell them. What about you, Miss Scarlet?"

"We have our mission and this falls within it so we, too, will provide assistance." Scarlet replied, as it was her apparent name according to the man in green, although it was quickly followed by a harsh snort.

 _"You're not serious_ Erza _!?"_ Pina didn't understand what exactly he said, but she knew Natsu was upset although what she could clearly make out was the name Erza which she summarized was Scarlet's first name since the two seemed much closer than the others. _"I can't believe this!"_ He added before storming out of the parlor and slamming the door behind him.

"You have our support, Princess. Excuse me while I talk to my party member, he'll come around." Erza excused herself as she went after Natsu, obviously annoyed with his disrespectful attitude and it was obvious that she wasn't in mood for games.

* * *

He was still in the throne room, but Erza could tell by the ethernano gathering around him that he was fuming with shear anger. She came up to him and placed a stern hand on his shoulder, which he of course tried to shove off to no avail, and made him look at her. Just by the way Erza had seen Natsu look at Pina when he found out she was the princess to the Empire, the requip mage knew he was much more of a danger than these bandits Pina had been fighting off would ever be.

"How can you so readily agree to help the enemy Erza! It's because of her father and this stupid 'Imperial Council' or whatever it is that so many of our people are suffering right now!" Of course, they were speaking normally now than in Old Fiorean but it didn't matter much when Natsu was venting out.

"I understand your sentiment Natsu, but take a step back and think clearly. I, too, don't wish to help the very royalty that trespassed our world but what of the people within the city?" Erza had to reason with Natsu as the only thing driving him is his anger against Pina. "Part of our mission as a whole is to help those that call this world home when the need arrives, become a beacon that can be trusted."

"Screw that! We're not an other worldly police force, solving their problems for them. We came here to rescue people and I'm here to make sure that whoever took them will pay." Their greatest lead was just in the other room and Natsu was willing to do whatever it takes for this empire to surrender. "Why should we try to get on their good side in the first place!?"

"You heard what Gray said about what the people think of the ruling family, many don't trust those in power and feel like it's up to themselves to make decisions to their daily lives." It was moderate information that the ice mage had gathered when he spoke with the residents of Carne Village, but it did bring in a useful viewpoint. "Do we need to seek the monarchy's approval? No, that matters little to the operation. Do we need the people's approval? Yes, getting our name to be synonymous with hope makes us trustworthy and gain benefits down the line."

"Playing politics is too damn slow, Erza. I say we nab the princess and force her tell us where they took the people they kidnapped." It would be very simple; her apparent guards were no match for Erza's sword skills and they definitely weren't going to be much of a challenge against his flames.

"We're not dark mages, Natsu. We are not going to stoop so low as to deal in such things."

"I'm not saying we torture her, but there are people back at the base who know how to _persuade_ the information out of people. Besides, I know a couple of people who would agree to what I'm saying."

"We aren't soulless automatons, Natsu. Come to your senses and let this hatred fizzle out already, Itami and his band have agreed to help her. Our people are trying to make peace between us, so I can't allow you to destroy it because of your vendetta." Erza never wanted to threaten her guildmates, but even she knew that she couldn't risk everything they're trying to do because Natsu didn't keep himself in check.

"It's not my vendetta, it's all of Fiore's vendetta!" Natsu raged as his anger flared into the air around them, causing a number of plants in the room to wilt into ash before he reined himself back in. "I thought you were different, but you're just like that icy asshole..."

Natsu stormed out of the room and as much as Erza tried to call him back, he paid her no head as his steps began to fade away into the distance. This world may be very rustic to theirs by comparison, but the evils were all too similar and the requip mage feared that all that exposure to it had impacted Natsu far worse than she had initially thought. The red head knew he would listen to her orders in the end or face being left at the base for insubordination, but what worried her was the fact that he'll release his aggression to whatever stood in his way soon.

Erza could no longer dwell on it for much longer and had to return to the room the third princess and Itami were in. They had moved on to looking at a map of the surrounding area of Italica and needless to say, everyone had heard Natsu yelling a few moments ago with the Countess looking visibly shaken by it. What Erza found strange though was for the fact that Rory managed a pleased smile for some reason.

"My teammate may have his views, but we will be aiding you in protecting this city." Itami nodded his head as he went back to looking at the map and Erza could see that Pina was visibly relieved.

"Very well, I've gathered the tactics being employed by the bandits and I've decided to have all your forces defend the south gate." Pina notified as she pointed to the other end of the city where an entrance not far from a small forested area resided.

"Wouldn't it be best to have the newly amounted numbers to defend the east gate that we came in? Your defenses may have held in the last attack, but the probability that they'll amass most of their forces to take the gate sure is high, Third Princess." The requip mage had learned their tactics first hand and knew that they preferred to fight in numbers under a commanding officer, so the princess had to be the main objective in order to achieve victory.

"Because our defense held in the first place after three attacks means they'll try to find another way into the city. The walls are too dangerous to scale, so the only option left is for them to attack the south gate where they'll run into you." Logically, the princess' understanding was solid but the main focus Erza knew she wasn't getting was that the goal was to defeat the princess to gain the advantage and demoralize their forces.

"Do you truly believe they'll concentrate on the south gate?" Itami was aware that Erza's suggestion was much favorable since they'd have the upper hand in overall effectiveness, but the Princess was so sure that the attack would be far worse to the south.

"You may not understand their tactics, but I know that they'll try to cripple us from behind and surround us. A small battalion will attack the east gate and their greater numbers will hit the south with everything they have."

"Alright, let's get geared up and into position then." Itami said and put his helmet back on as the head maid came in to help escort them back to the entrance of the manor.

Erza followed behind them, trying her best to locate anything damaged along the way for the sake of apologizing about it to the Countess for Natsu's behavior. Luckily it seemed that everything was intact, save for the footprint scores that scorched the floor. It was best that she let that go and concentrate on getting the team prepared for the upcoming battle, plus needing to contact HQ about this as well. The red head sighed to herself at the numerous things she had to do, but some good deeds don't go unrewarded and she hoped this would be one of those times.

"Pardon, Miss Scarlet, but may I have a word with you?" Pina requested as soon as they reached the entrance hall of the manor, much to Erza's surprise as she had the impression that she wanted to be out of that room as soon as possible.

"Very well, Third Princess, what can I do for you?" Oddly enough, the very commanding princess from earlier seemed to recoil slightly now that she stood face to face with her.

"From what clan do you reside? I had thought most lords would have sent their daughters to join the Rose Order if they were willing to train you." Erza could tell that it was her attempt to hold some sort of belief that she was from the princess' world, though it made no sense when she came out of a Rhino following Itami's vehicles.

"I'm afraid I am a visitor to your world, like Itami as well as Natsu."

"Then, perchance, are you familiar with an individual known as the Foolish Prince?" Erza felt like she had heard something like it before from the villagers of Carne Village some time ago, but she couldn't remember who it was.

"You'll have to forgive me Third Princess, but I'm not aware of anyone by that title." The princess looked a little deflated at her words, but had apologized for taking her time and allowed her to carry on with preparations.

An odd interaction, but it wasn't a foreseeable one given that the princess was talking to strangers from another world for the first time. Though Erza had to wonder why, of all people, would the princess assume she would know someone with the title of Foolish Prince.

* * *

Natsu sat upon one of the battlements, looking out towards the south as the sun began to set and did his best not to scowl lest Erza reprimanded him again for it. They were made to defend the south gate with the rest of the JSDF who were busying scoping out the land with binoculars, him being grateful for the fact that his eyes could see just as good if not better than those clunky things. They'd been there for hours with nothing coming over the horizon for just as long until the dragon slayer had caught the sounds of hooves and located the three riders appearing over the crest of a hill.

"Looks like we got scouts over there." Natsu informed to Lucy who borrowed a pair of binoculars to see where Natsu was pointing at. "Three of them staying in position."

"Lucy, Wendy can you confirm?" Erza asked as with some adjustment, Lucy could make out the figures whose armor reflected some of the setting sun.

"I see them Erza and it looks like they're moving a bit closer." The blonde could assume that the enemy could at least see them as well to an extent, after all with Natsu's hair being as bright as it is.

"There's more, a large group holding still behind them. Maybe in the hundreds." Wendy added as she shielded her eyes from what remained of the sun's rays as the JSDF adjusted themselves to see the enemy army.

"And here I thought we were fighting a band of bandits, not an entire siege force." Itami joked as he tried to lighten the mood, but when his attempt fell flat, he let out an awkward cough. "Judging by this new information, what do you think they'll try to do Old Man? Miss Scarlet?"

"Even with a force that large, they'd be hard pressed to try and surround the city. The west gate is too far out of the way for them to assist in the fighting, leaving it to the south gate and east gate being the closest." Kuwahara replied his thoughts, but he gave Itami a look of grave concern. "But what bothers me more is..."

"Yeah, I know what you're getting at." Itami voiced as he turned to face the combined group of JSDF and FEF members. "The princess made us a decoy for the south gate since there's only seventeen of us and two cats against those numbers." He didn't count Tuka or Lelei in the numbers since he didn't want to fling them into combat.

"She expects us to fail to hold the line and finish the battle at the second line of defense. Assuming the bandits pour their efforts in taking this "undefended" gate with everything they have." Erza added on to Itami's words, but did her best not to show her aggravation with this plan. "Problem falls onto the fact that the people of this world will follow a leader to the end, so what happens if the leader falls?"

"The defense crumbles." Kuribayashi answered and it dawned on the JSDF that many soldiers during the attack at Ginza were completely lost once the more decorated soldiers were killed first once they started fighting back.

"So we will have to hold the line here as long as we can before needing to retreat." Itami tried to inspire the group, but received a snort from the pink haired dragon slayer who hadn't moved his gaze away from the scouts who were long gone.

"No one's retreating from this coming fight, not us and not them. Those sorry bastards are outnumbered." Natsu smirked darkly as Lucy gave him a worried look while Erza seemed conflicted by his attitude.

"From what I've come to know about you, Pinky, is that you're bad at math but I didn't think you were this bad." Kuribayashi poked fun and that got a laugh out of Happy, but she had been expecting his teammates to look at least a little amused at that quip.

"She isn't wrong, Natsu, although he does have a point that those guys are seriously outnumbered." The blue cat said as he flew up to sit on the battlement next to his best friend. "He, Erza, Gray and Lucy fought an army of like two thousand magic wielding cultists on their own to save a town about half as big as Italica."

"Bullshit." Kuribayashi could not believe that those four managed to fend off that many people on their own, it just wasn't possible. "No offense, but Lucy doesn't look like much of a fighter to handle that many people."

"As much as that tomcat likes to tell tall tales, he's actually telling the truth." This time Carla spoke up as the JSDF soldiers in the vicinity were blown away at that fact.

"Then we don't have to worry about anything with you guys on our side, right?" Itami chipped in smiling, feeling better internally that they at least had magic on their side too. "Alright everyone, deploy defensive lines that cover across the breadth of the wall. Set up your goggles as soon as you can, we've got about an hour's worth of daylight left."

"Yes, Sir!" Third Recon saluted in unison as the went about their orders, leaving Itami to oversee the rest of the defenses and Erza had decided to get her team in position as well.

The requip mage couldn't shake the terrible feeling building in the depths of her being so, against her regular judgment, she put Lucy alongside Natsu for vanguard when the enemy arrived. That left herself and Wendy on the ramparts for quick access to the skies and roof tops in case they needed to do a mad dash for the east gate. Erza knew the dragon slayer was taking point no matter what, so she needn't brief him of her battle strategy if he was bound to do his own thing. Pulling Lucy aside and bringing Wendy along, Erza felt it was best to notify them of her plans to lessen the confusion of their placement. Mainly for the blonde's sake as she was never one to be put at the direct frontline, leaving that to Erza, Natsu and Gray most of the time. This in effect left Natsu sitting on the battlement by his lonesome as Happy had gone with Carla, his gaze never wavering from the darkening horizon before him.

"So, dragon of the flame, judging by the way you acted you feel like this princess and her empire is your enemy. That begs the question of why are you helping that which you wish to conquer?" Rory asked walking up to him, his face unrevealing but the slight ear twitch told her enough.

"Hell if I know, but Erza made the point that we're doing it for the people living here." Rory noticed his features soften slightly as he finally tore his gaze away to look at her. "She says that the decision of those in power don't often represent the people themselves."

"Do you believe that these mortals should be saved? Should they continue their limited existence because they deserve it or because your moral compass tells you that life is precious?" Rory wanted to delve into the real heart of the person before her, much like she wanted to do so with Gray.

"What does it matter what I think? I'm on orders to stop the bandits of your world from killing their own people. I've taken the lives of more people in my life than each person in this city has put together. Retribution is what I'm after and yet, in this world, people kill for the sake of it?" Natsu thought back to a time where he was too bothered by the idea of killing someone, a physical aversion that disappeared when he lost his mind to the power of E.N.D. "It makes no sense to me, so why doesn't any of it get to you?"

"Silly boy, I'm over eight hindered years old. I've witnessed life bloom and perish across this land to fill many regular lifetimes over. As an Apostle of Emroy, I don't see killing as a sin. I see it as natural as breathing in the air that gives you life, but understanding the limitations of death drives my curiosity." Rory replied smiling and a part of Natsu felt that same chill run up his spine again when he first met her. "That's why I said you and Gray are very similar."

"What does he have to do with anything? He's nothing more than a coward, too scared to accept the reality of the world the same way Erza's too optimistic to see what lies underneath." It didn't make sense to him how these two that he had thought were very down to earth land were so enclosed to the real world, living in a fantasy or something.

"It's genuinely surprising to know that you truly believe that." Rory just kept smiling and it just didn't sit right with Natsu, as if she was looking deep within him or something akin to it. "To me, you've closed yourself off to the very world you've come into, seeing that which lives here as mere obstacles and are willing to burn it all to ash for the sake of your own justice. So barbaric, so instinctual, so...inhuman."

The last word managed to worm into Natsu's heart in an instant as even he understood the implication behind it. She wasn't combining words to make him feel bad, she was looking into the very being that he was. Rory had somehow seen him less like the human he wanted to be and more like the monster he was created to become. It terrified him how her eyes gleamed with her little invasive words that were always trying to strike deep, wanting to see what lay underneath the person Natsu chose to be.

"A sin must be paid in full, but is a sinner aware of their actions if they truly believe deep within their heart that what they do is justice?" Rory posed the question to the pink haired dragon slayer, who looked far more dumbfounded then when she first started talking to him. "Man can choose their actions, beasts rely on natural instinct, but monsters are the lost beings that must be culled for the greater good."

Natsu could only stare at her, she seemed childish most of the time and yet she had the wisdom that brought his breath to a standstill. He never shied away from an enemy, fear was a rare thing to him and yet it felt like his was on Tenrou all over again. Instead of Gildarts' vast magic pool that overshadowed him, it was Rory and her words that saw inside the very terror in his heart. The horror of becoming the monster he vowed to Igneel that he would never become, the dreaded etherious living deep inside of him.

"So tell me, Natsu, what is your answer? Should the lives behind this wall be saved or will you allow your personal ideals to take precedent and let the weak be culled as a form of karma because of the actions of their countrymen?"

"My... My enemy is the Empire for what they did to the innocent in my world, but I'm a Fairy Tail mage first and foremost. That means that I won't turn my back to people in need, doesn't matter if they're from my world or this one." Natsu confidently answered even though his voice was shaky to begin with. "That princess and her kingdom will get what's coming to them in time, but we'll prove ourselves to show that it's best that she plays nice with us."

"That's great to hear! You'll show her power, true terror that she will have to bend the knee to live! Her soul will plead for paradise against the very might before her!" Natsu was officially weirded out at her sudden tone shift, but the smile she gave him had changed somehow as he no longer felt the cold fear on his back. "This will be a most wondrous battle! No need to hold back now, most of these bandits would no doubt have come from the Artisian Valley."

"I guess I missed a few and now it's come to bite me in ass." Natsu muttered to himself as he went back to stare out onto the horizon, a flame burning brighter and brighter within him as time ticked away.

* * *

Night had drawn onto them; the south gate as quiet as could be except the snores emerging from Natsu who had fallen asleep cross legged on the battlement he sat on hours ago. Wendy had asked for a sleep shift some time ago as well and was granted one from Erza who wasn't affected by sleep just yet. The shift policy had also been picked up by the JSDF to keep everyone rested as no movement had been made since the sun had set. Itami wondered how the dragon slayer could sit in such a precarious and exposed spot without worry of being sniped by an arrow, doing his best to keep himself occupied while Kuwahara kept a lookout.

Itami had noticed Wendy stir a bit followed by Natsu shooting up from his sleeping position to turn his head towards the east, something even Wendy mimicked as she had awakened when he was busy looking at Natsu. The captain stood up to take a look and could see the emerging black plumes of smoke rise from the bright lights below them. He had heard Rory whine at the fact that the enemy was at the east gate and their purpose was thus wasted, Itami was about to comment at the knowing looks of his squad until he heard the movement of Erza's armor.

"I knew they'd attack directly; they're trained soldiers so it would make sense to attack the weakest point. We don't have time to lose, Lucy and Natsu will stay here while Wendy comes with me." Erza order as Natsu made to protest until a restrained mewl escaped Rory's lips for all to hear.

"Is she alright?" Natsu asked and was met with unsure looks from everyone, except Lelei who moved over to one side near Itami.

"The souls of the fallen are passing through her as we speak towards Hardy's domain. As an Apostle of Emroy, souls must be cleansed through her before being sent and thus her sudden mood shift is for the fact that the process is akin to an aphrodisiac." Lelei explained as the ears on Wendy turned a bright red as she tried to hide her gaze from the slightly convulsing Rory.

"So, she's like... getting off?" As bluntly as ever, Natsu didn't know when to be subtle and blush on Wendy now became her whole face as even Kurokawa had a slight pink tinge to her cheeks.

"There's no more time to waste, we're moving out!" Erza commanded as Wendy was already the first to move, Carla lifting the teen into the sky and towards the fighting.

"Miss Scarlet, we'll give you a lift. I don't think you'll catch up on foot with Wendy." Kuwahara offered, but Erza politely declined while Rory's cries became louder.

"I'll make it in time, be prepared here. Requip: Flight Armor!" Erza's body shone brightly as her armor disappeared and the JSDF were now looking at her in an outfit that shared a unique likeness to a cheetah, ears, tail and all.

In the instant the shine finally died down, Erza jumped high into the sky until she landed onto a nearby roof and sped off at incredible speeds no human was capable of. To the Japanese anyway as the red head seemed to leave a dust trail as she ran over each roof and jumped onto the next. Itami whistled in astonishment that such a thing was possible, now believing that she would manage to reach Wendy in no time. He was about to make an order to fall in for a new plan for the failed decoy until Kuribayashi rushed past him towards one of the HMVs.

"We're only sending a woman and a teenager as reinforcements to the east gate, First Lieutenant!?" She called up to him as she got the engine running in an instant, much to Itami's annoyance of her always being on the move.

"Old Man, you're in charge! Tomita on me, we're reinforcing the east gate!" Itami ordered as he tried his best to get down the stairwell as fast as he could with Tomita not far behind him.

"Roger!" Kuwahara replied as the HMV rode away into the city and disappearing at a corner street, turning to debrief the remainder of the squad until he noticed Natsu standing up for the first time since he sat down in the late afternoon.

"Looks like the Princess wasn't wrong; they did come to attack the south gate." Natsu said aloud as he launched a fireball into a tree line, illuminating the night and revealing the hundreds of soldiers rushing the walls. "Time to kick some ass!"

Natsu launched into the air with tremendous speed, spotting a favorable spot to cause the most chaos and as he landed, he noticed that he wasn't the only who came down from the wall. The onyx halberd shined in the moonlight and reflected the flames menacingly as blood splashed into the sky, the wielder smiling excitedly as she spun the axe effortlessly in her hand. The dragon slayer lit himself on fire as his adrenaline began to pump with each sound of armored boots barreling at him. He had fought against dragons and even a god before, but this would be the first time he fought alongside a demigoddess and he wouldn't be up showed.

"Now I'm fired up!"


	15. Battle of Italica Pt II

Battle of Italica Pt. II

Blood splattered against stone and bark as Rory somersaulted over a group of bandits, her halberd whirling menacingly as the blade launched a body across the roadway. The demigoddess' bloodlust fueling her adrenaline as she stormed another group of bandits from behind, knocking them all over as flames engulfed them before they hit the floor. She turned to see Natsu's outstretched hand lowering before shooting back up and striking a spearman in the stomach, the sorry fool doubling over in pain before being punted over to Rory. Seeing the pass, the dark haired demigoddess caught him with her weapon and sent him careening into the ground with inhuman strength.

Despite the death around her, Rory smiled in satisfaction as more and more bodies came to rush the gate. She felt her legs quiver at the sight and was ready to leap into action before a blinding light had engulfed the mass approaching them. It gave the halberd wielder pause as she had just remembered about the other defenders stationed on the ramparts, staring intently at the blonde who had put pause to her fun. Natsu, too, had stopped in his tracks from the sudden light but recovered and increased the distance between himself and the mass before another figure appeared next to him in a shimmer of gold light.

Rory starred in bewilderment at the sight of the battle ax wielding minotaur that stood side by side with Natsu, never having seen someone capable of summoning such a beast. Now it became quite an interesting development for Rory, seeing as Gray's allies were all greatly unique in their own regard. The summoner that can call upon even the most fearsome of mystic beasts all the way to the slayer of dragons, but at the moment it meant little to her as dozens of souls cried out to be freed from the confines of their meat suits. With a devilish smile, Rory obliged those poor trapped souls as she hacked her way through six bandits only jumping back when the minotaur shattered the very ground before her. She watched as the very ground broke apart and swallowed up a small group of enemies, then turning her gaze to see the creature launch a handful of enemy soldiers into the air with each swing it took.

When it came to combat with a battle ax, Rory wouldn't be outdone by a beast and resumed her massacre as a pair of fools believed that they could get the jump on her. Suffice to say, they were fatally wrong as their heads rolled off into a heap of bushes and their bodies falling to their knees before slumping over on their sides. Such freedom invigorated her far more than the common rabble that would assault weary travelers on the road, but she found it especially fun with Natsu nearby. The intense flames near drying the blood before it ever touched the floor, burnt bone drowned the heavy smell of iron and in a way, it was cleansing. The dragon slayer's flames eradicating the sin within the shells the souls possessed, allowing a more refreshing experience of sending souls away.

Then again, it was simple rhetoric she was using to explain her enjoyment to those on the wall if they ever asked. She could see the conflict in their eyes from her position, yet the blonde woman's gaze held her troubles and a hint of sadness for what Natsu was doing. No doubt pained by the work he was doing, but Rory thought he was doing the work of her god quite effectively so it mattered little to the grander schemes she had lived to acknowledge. Which brought curiosity to the halberd wielder as she had come to notice that the minotaur had yet to actually kill any of the bandits since it's appearance. Severe case of broken bones and shattered spirits were plenty, but death had yet to grace the grand battle ax as a gleaming crescent emerged from its latest swing.

Her thoughts went on towards the JSDF, her skills naturally giving her the opportunity to think freely in combat, who had been a surprising help at picking off the more cowardly bandits that had taken up archery. Including others who tried to circumvent both Natsu and herself, but she had yet to grow accustomed to the explosions their rifles created every time they fired. She thought about giving them a few targets for themselves, Rory was a generous person after all, although she was unsure if the dragon slayer would have it. While she had managed to fell a substantial number of bandits, it hadn't compared to the pink haired man as his flames stretched and consumed all as they traveled across the battlefield. She wondered where his mind was in all this, the carnage he was besieging on these bravely stupid men that seemed to fail common sensibilities of avoiding Natsu.

Rory hacked another six bandits as her mind thought about the restless soul within the dragon slayer, an internal battle for domination that intrigued her greatly. One was pure, leveled like any so-called "hero" she had come across in her centuries of travel and yet, the other soul felt out of place and above all else; false. It was akin to a roaring forest fire that wanted to consume all in its path with an inhuman hunger for chaos and destruction. Rarely had the halberd wielder encountered anything as strange as him, albeit Natsu being the second living person with two souls residing within them.

The Priestess always had been a curious demigoddess of sorts, even if the shattering of bones and reaping the souls around her would lead others to think otherwise. Even in the midst of battle, with pools of blood soaking the very ground beneath her feet, did her curiosity wander towards the dragon slayer and his non present comrade the ice mage. Two beings new to her world; both having another soul residing within them and yet still different when it came to how each reacted to their host. Gray's soul was not as pure as Natsu's; filled with self-hate, sadness, but interestingly enough shining with hope all the while the false soul was like a guide by his side. Natsu's on the other hand wanted control, unbridled destruction and was fighting to break free, so Rory truly wondered how it would all play out in the future. In the meantime, she refocused her efforts in freeing the souls of the stupid and allowed a simple thought about the dragon slayer to float away as he sent another body hurdling her way.

As for Natsu, the dragon slayer tried his best to keep his mind in the here and now as he tore through the armor, shields and blades that stood in his way with every step he took. The horror on their faces were marred by the firelight surrounding them as his flames had spread to the trees and grass. It was easy to snuff out if he so willed it, but it stopped the bastards from hiding from his wrath. His anger flared when the first storm of enemies ran at him with sadistic smiles, ones that remained even when they died before his might and Rory's blade. He hated this world, hated what was done to **his** people, hated the fact that he was wasting time running around this damn world with no sense of direction as to where the civilians were. Everyone and everything were pissing him off; Gray, the city, Erza, the Princess and the assholes before him trying to get in the city.

 _ **"And you want it all to burn away..."**_

For a brief moment, Natsu froze at the all too familiar voice he heard in his head and a part of him dreaded to ever hear it again. He wasn't afraid of it per se, but it drew concern as it would mean that he was losing it and the last thing he wasn't going to let go of was his sanity. The dragon slayer lost himself once before with Alvarez and a part of him again during the assault of Crocus, so he'd be damned to let himself go again here of all places. His fist unconsciously tightened on the throat he wasn't aware of grabbing before flinging the now limp body at a bandit prepared to throw an ax at him. Natsu's mind had wandered long enough that his body was automatically defending itself on instinct from the threats coming into the close range of him, but it surprised him to see that his flames weren't surrounding his body.

 ** _"Let your emotions run wild, let your passion burn those who defy you to ash"_**

Natsu shook his head clear of his thoughts and the voice, trying his best to focus on the battle at hand as Taurus defended him from a pair of arrows coming at him. He nodded his thanks to the spirit before launching himself into the thick of it once again, his feet aflame as he allowed his magic to explode around him. Three blades came at him at once when the bandits recovered and, in an instant, Natsu swiftly dodged each one before sending their wielders through the air and the unfortunate one into a tree. He heard the cries of pain and death not so far away from him and watched as a giant ax crush a bandit before Rory used the momentum to front flip straight over the body.

Once on her feet, she rushed at a bandit with the spear point of her ax straight through the heart and lifted his body high above as his blood traveled down to the handle. A sinister smile spread across her face as her eyes seemed to glow with murderous intent, her gaze landing on Natsu before she deftly twirled her weapon with the body flying through the air. It landed right at his feet and for the first time since he started fighting, the dragon slayer actually saw fear in their eyes. The sadistic smiles were disappearing right in front of them, many being replaced by anguish as his flames lashed out at his enemies and seeing the extent of their fighting with a trail of bodies spanning from where he first landed. Now at the end did they understand the real nightmare they had entered as Natsu lit his fists in flames, gaining the opportunity to welcome them to their demise.

Though he wouldn't do it alone.

Fast on his feet, the dragon slayer charged headlong through a mass of bandits to get to Rory and the demigoddess seemed to have understood what he was trying to do as she outstretched her hand to him. Grasping her small hand in his, Natsu planted his feet as he helped launch the demigoddess across the battlefield where a bulk of the bandit forces were idling on standby, chasing after her as she soared. Natsu used body after body as a springboard to traverse the many enemies around him, smashing faces into stone, tree and dirt as he passed with impressive speed that made it out as if he wasn't even there in the first place. Though the congestion of bodies became too thick to get through soon enough and quickly summoned his magic to his fists.

"Fire Dragon's Claw!" He cleaved his way through, the force of his attack making a clearing for him and those wise enough tried for dear life to get out of his path as he zoomed through.

It wasn't until he had to launch another attack that he realized the magic arrows helping clear out the bandits that weren't in his immediate area that his fire magic could affect and gave a mental thanks to Lucy for having his back. The celestial spirit mage on the other hand was very much frayed with the overwhelming odds, even with Natsu and the deadly Rory on their side.

When the battle began, she was very much not happy with the dragon slayer's gung-ho attitude of dropping straight into the mass of enemies down below. Sure, Rory joined him on the ground to fight, but the enemy was practically at the gate and surrounding them. Those two had been so zeroed in on attacking what was in front of them that they weren't aware of the fact that the bandits encircled them and tried to climb the walls. Lucy nearly leapt out of her skin when a bandit had managed to get on the rampart, but was swiftly shot off by Kurokawa who had noticed the blonde's yelp of surprise. That was when she had enough of the demigoddess and Natsu's obliviousness and summoned Taurus to assist them on keeping the enemy away from the gate.

For the most part, it was all fine and controlled with her in her Sagittarius Dress shooting at the enemy alongside the JSDF, but concern had begun to wash over her when she noticed Natsu was slowing down and his movements lost his usual flare. Then he just shoots off into the horde with Rory and leaving Taurus as the last defender on the ground, which gave her a personal fright of having her spirit be overwhelmed by the bandits. Without a second thought, Lucy quickly went for her key ring a pulled out two more spirits for help.

"Open Gates of the Archer and Lion!" Two bursts of shimmering light appeared flanking Lucy and the JSDF were surprised to see a man dressed in a horse costume and another in a more elegant suit as he adjusted his tie.

"Ready to serve, Miss Lucy!" Sagittarius saluted to Lucy who was about to respond when Loke swiftly pulled her close to him in order to avoid an arrow heading her way.

"Glad you called on me, Beautiful. Take care of that archer that dared to hit Lucy, Sagittarius." Loke ordered as he regrettably released Lucy, himself none too happy to have his contract keeper in the midst of a war.

"With pleasure!" The centaur spirit said determinedly as any respectable spirit in Lucy's care would do everything in their power to keep their master safe, especially from the ruffians the archer's eyes were scanning for his future shots.

"So, what's the situation we're in now?" Loke asked as he surveyed the battlefield, Taurus doing his best to fight off the mobs coming at him and their new friends dealing as much damage as they can from above.

"Natsu decided to take on the rest of the army over there!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing towards a large pillar of flame that sprang up as it moved towards a new direction. "When we still have to deal with what's left between him and us."

"I'm assuming we're going to get down and dirty now, huh?" Loke rhetorically asked as he scooped up Lucy in a princess carry and jumped off from the ramparts.

Of course the blonde wanted a little more warning before he did something so reckless, but she would leave her complaints for later and was just glad that Sagittarius was already aware of his advantage by staying above the battle. Loke always took the initiative, but at times Lucy wished he would listen before rushing into things so readily just like this time.

"Their numbers are thinning so we've just got to hold out a bit longer. Star Dress: Taurus Form!" Lucy was then engulfed in light before her outfit changed to match Tauras' style.

"Why that one?" Loke whined which Lucy was pretty amazed by in their current predicament, but then again, he was always steps ahead of simple opponents given that he kicked three different bandits off their feet. "You look so much better in my form's dress."

"Because what we need right now is more strength here, and Taurus has been going at this alone for nearly half an hour!" Lucy claimed as she pulled out her Fleuve d'étoiles, the whip shimmering with magic power as it let out a crack with one fluid motion. "Now let's show them how a celestial spirit mage and her spirits really fight!"

Lucy launched her whip at a nearby bandit, ensnaring her target as she pulled him in and began spinning her whip above her head. The bandit became her improvised flail as she struck five enemies rushing her in a single blow, releasing her captured enemy in the process and snapping her whip off to another enemy. The blonde did her best to fend off anyone that came to face her, Taurus at her flank to protect her when it was too much and Loke's ferocity would make sure that if she ever really got into any danger then she would be saved in a matter of seconds. Her trust in her spirits was all she needed to know that even if she was in the midst of a bloodbath, she'd make it out on top. Luckily for her, Taurus was a strong defender too so she had more maneuverability to attack the enemies that were more open and it came at the sight of a group of soldiers erecting those useless tower shields.

With a running start, Lucy charged the cowering group as Sagittarius provided cover fire for her and with one quick motion, she delivered a devastating Lucy Stomp. It was a new move she came up to use in her current Star Dress that allowed her to stomp the ground with enough force that the shockwave by itself could send most of her enemies into the air. The bandits in the vicinity that had witnessed their allies soaring through the air turned to face the minotaur that did it, but instead saw a blonde scantily clad woman standing there with a satisfied expression. Of all things to happen with Rory the Reaper, the man whose flames could burn to the bone and the minotaur, their pride was being shattered as they were being defeated by a woman. As they were preparing to charge at her and prove that they were not to be trifled with, a brilliant light appeared behind them.

At the center of that light, a man in odd garments stood there fixing the cloth around his sleeves as his unruly hair hid his face. The first bandit to make a move in defiance was met with a fist of light that sent him careening into the ground and as more came to attack the more light he began to emanate. One would charge head on, the orange haired man would knock them out with a single punch, another got behind him and a swift kick put him down faster than an arrow released from a bow. Many of those around him began to grow worried as the unruly haired man began to glow brighter and brighter until it was too late for any of them to do anything. The orange haired man raised an open palm to the night sky as the light began to concentrate there, before he sealed it into a fist and slammed it into the ground.

An explosion of light illuminated a vast area of the battlefield as dozens of bandits laid defeated on the ground with some holding onto their visors crying out in pain. The numbers for the enemy ranks had thinned greatly at this point and their reinforcements were caught off thanks to Natsu and Rory. Everyone felt a sense of ease engulf them, as if they could breathe easier now without the looming threat of being overrun at the forefront of their minds.

* * *

The JSDF were grateful to have had the FEF in this battle, having witnessed the mass of soldiers and knowing that they didn't have the necessary amount of munitions to keep them at bay for long. Most of the squad had gone through their fourth magazine by the time Rory and Natsu had decided to run off on their own, becoming a bit antsy at the idea of having to fight at close quarters. Not to mention that some had managed to get close enough to scale the walls and make their way up to the ramparts. Thanks to Lucy calling upon her allies did they managed to keep them a good distance from the walls, plus the archer she had called on was a boon in his effectiveness on taking on both greater rangers and grouped enemies.

Kuwahara was most surprised when it concerned the blonde woman, obviously he wouldn't condone a young woman to wear what she had on into such conflict, but was otherwise impressed by her bravery to face both blade and shield with her fists and a whip made out of light. There was also the fact that she had greater strength than anyone he had ever known in his life, but he let it get chalked up to her being from another world. More than that, he held respect for the trust she had for her summoned allies who he still couldn't fathom their great differences yet. One was an actual mystical beast; another was dressed in a horse costume and the last was just a well-dressed young man that had, surprisingly, no dirt or stains on his suit.

 _"These youngsters sure are on a different level than the one's at home."_ The old soldier thought to himself until he noticed a flare rise into the air off into the distance, only remembering that the pink haired young man shot it for a reason.

All of the sudden, a blue blur passed them like a bullet as it rose into the air off towards the flare with great speed. He turned to look below him to see the elf girl and mage girl both shocked with the recent development as well. Kuwahara quickly summarized that the blue cat was the one that went off to assist his partner and debated for a moment if he should have notified the blonde woman about her partner's cat flying off. He decided against it as he reloaded his rifle to help deal with what was left of the bandits before seeing an all too familiar red streak launch into the sky before curving at an angle. The old soldier remembered what the pink haired young man did to the dragon with that attack, so he wondered what it would do now that it was changed for a more area of effect attack.

Needless to say, a massive explosion followed soon after the very tip of the red streak touched down onto the surface as the blast force was felt mere seconds later. What the JSDF hadn't expected, aside from the dragon slayer being as effective as a missile, was that the blue cat came flying back with Rory in his paws. Though it seemed he was a little frazzled as he came closer to the ramparts, possibly having to pick up the demigoddess before his friend torched the earth behind him. He set the gothic lolita down before settling himself into Lelei's arms, caressing the singed fur of his tail while Tuka went in search of water for him. The old soldier had to admit that the cat had guts to go out into enemy lines like that, though with how much they had to deal with at the south gate, Kuwahara wondered about the situation at the east gate since Miss Scarlet herself went to assist them.

* * *

Pina gripped the railing in defeated anger, she could not believe that she had been this blindsided to their strategy. They were soldiers trained by the Empire, their tactics were all the same up to this point and yet she had not foreseen the large-scale assault on the east gate. How could this have happened; she had been trained in military tactics by the best generals they had and still she would fail without so much as a proper fight. Norma's dead because she had failed to equate the magic casters interfering with her defenses' arrows and the influx of soldiers bearing down on the ramparts. He was a good man and now he was dead because of her failure as a leader; Pina believed they could hold the gates and that her Rose Order would make it on time, but her hopes were being reduced to cinders before her.

"Your Majesty, we need to send more reinforcements to the barricade!" Hamilton informed as the civilians had entered combat, the final line of defense before Italica would be lost.

"There are none left to send!" Pina cried in anguish as she watched the residents of Italica bravely, but ultimately fruitlessly, fighting off the enemy. "If only my knights had come..."

The Princess watched as the remaining defenders fall one after the other, swarmed by blades or pierced by spears as bandits continued to pour in droves through the opened gate. She could hear their cries of anguish, those who called out to their families before being silenced and others that questioned where the Men in Green were. Pina knew the answer to that; they had been overrun by now as the flames from the south were of any indication of that and that this was their final stand. The empowered roar of the largest bandit shifted her attention as he led the attack, his spiked ball flail carving through every civilian in his path with some crashing into the bulwarks from the force of the strike.

Grey was still off fighting on the ramparts to have come to their aid, but Pina knew that even he would struggle to fend off the massive fiend before he too perished. A part of her wanted to cry in utter defeat as her own pride had costed Italica its freedom, wishing she had taken heed of the armored woman's concern about their enemy. The Princess had to accept the horrible truth of it all and tried to mentally prepare herself for her final stand once the bulwarks fell to the bandits. At best, she and any remaining civilians could hold them off long enough for Hamilton to escape with the Countess and hopefully meet up with her Rose Order. If this was her end, then Pina would go down like a true knight and not like one of her father's decorations.

A sudden flash of bright light diverted her attention into the sky as a figure descended rapidly into the more congested area of enemy forces that had entered the gate. All eyes were drawn towards the woman that had appeared from the very sky, her intricate armor gleaming in the light of the flames as her skirt settled. Her eyes were piercing as she took in the battlefield before her, an ethereal glow surrounding her hands as blades manifested within them. She leveled one towards the massive fiend in challenge as her blade like wings expanded and in response, the hulking bandit unleashed a horrendous bellow as he charged her. He swung at her, flail approaching at a great speed and yet she remained motionless.

The scraping of metal rang out as the chain had encircled her blade, the flail falling onto the ground shortly after with a thud not far from her feet. In an instant she closed the distance between them, crescents of light were all that could be seen from the woman's swings at the towering bandit before she stood behind him with both blades at her side. A moment had passed before the very armor the fiend had worn fell apart in sliced pieces then falling limp without another sound. Stunned silence ensued as all had witnessed the woman defeat one of the strongest foes in mere seconds before readying themselves as she turned to face them once again.

Her dazzling crimson hair flowed in the nightly breeze and Pina had come to realize that it was Scarlet as she once again pointed her blade to the group of bandits before her. This time, however, they raised their shields in turtle formation for maximum defense with their spears jutting out from the open crevasses. Scarlet steeled her gaze as her body shone brightly and she emerged in a new armor that caused Pina to hold her breath in shock. A dark, spiked armor stood before the bandit turtle that was armed with a massive spiked mace that seemed far too heavy for any woman to so easily wield. Scarlet took her stance as the mace rose into the sky and charged with unforeseen speed, Pina swearing to have seen her eye glow a blood red that shined against her shadowed face.

The Third Princess bore witness to Scarlet utterly destroying the turtle formation with a single strike as her spiked mace both shattered shields and sent assailants flying. With her momentum, she launched a series of kicks at her opponents so devastating that they refused to stand up once again. Another swing of her mace launched a band into the wall, the resounding clang of armor echoing all around with some even sounding like shatters. A bright flash came once again and Scarlet was back in the armor she had arrived in, the skirt billowing as she moved effortlessly between the groups of enemies. She would trade strikes with parries, lunges of spears with a simple side step and sword clashes with finesse and prowess. Most times even surrounded or outnumbered, but Pina could tell she wasn't the least bit worried of the numbers coming at her and her eyes were always calculating with focused precision. Each strike she made had a purpose, every step she made ensured dominance against her opponent and not once had she let her foes come near the bulwarks.

Pina stared in awe of the woman fighting below her, barely registering the screams coming from the ramparts as bandits had begun to fall off at a rapid rate. She went in search of Grey who clashed swords with one bandit while a hand twisted another's arm to drop his blade, but she was shocked once she continued to scan the rest of the wall. The young girl who had arrived with Scarlet's group was on the ramparts fighting bandits alongside one white haired cat girl at her back. The dark-haired teen was wielding wind magic to defend herself against the blades that came at her, but also used it in retaliation once she caught her bearings. The cat girl on the other hand was a skilled hand to hand combatant, using her agility to dodge attacks effortlessly and disarming her foes with ease as her tail proved to be a formidable appendage for stealth strikes and distractions.

Above all that the two showed, it was the way they fought in tandem that had surprised Pina the most as each move was made with the other in mind. A leg sweep made by the cat girl caused the dark-haired teen to deliver a jumping high kick and a stunning strike that barreled the teen's opponent behind her was met with the cat girl's elbow to his face. Most impressive of all was the usage of the cat girl's back to help the teen, back flip kick her opponent and that of the cat girl's in a single motion. They traded places in the middle of combat, but had no trouble easing themselves back into the fight. It boggled Pina's mind at how well one of Scarlet's people and one of the cat people fought in sync, as if they've been together for years to accomplish such a feat with great success.

The Third Princess was ready to concede defeat and her timely demise not ten minutes ago and now, now she dared to hope that they could pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat. Her thoughts snapped away when a challenging cry of a woman's came barreling through a nearby alleyway as one of the Men in Green came into view. She, of course, was not one of the men but her ferocity went unmatched as she plunged the dagger tip of her staff into a bandit and explosions began to rattle off into his body. Pulling it out again, the petite woman continued her blazing assault with every enemy that came her way as she nimbly dodged blade attacks and using her staff to block incoming attacks. Pina had grown a bit confused at the woman's shocked expression when her staff had fallen apart before she focused once again on the battle, pulling a small weapon from her sided that seemed to be as effective as her staff.

She heard Hamilton exclaim in shock at how the tables had turned so quickly thanks to the arrival of these four women, but the Princess grew weary when the petite one was changing out a small rectangle back into her small weapon and a bandit was approaching from behind her. Luckily, Scarlet had showed up and cut them down to size just in time and Pina could tell the petite woman was thankful for the save. More explosions sounded off from the same alleyway and a part of Pina was exploding with joy at the sight of Itami and another one of the Men in Green at his side. If three of them had arrived to assist them, then by some great miracle did they manage to defend the south gate against the enemy and her daring hope was beginning to bloom.

* * *

Erza flipped another of the larger bandits effortlessly over her blade, his body crashing with a massive thud onto the floor where Kuribayashi quickly finished him off. The crimson haired mage hadn't thought of the possibility that the JSDF would come along with her to the east gate, but was pleasantly surprised when the petite chestnut-haired woman came charging in with her own battle cry into the melee. A tad reckless for Erza's taste, but she was more or less used to people being reckless around her so it came off more as a familiar occurrence than anything else. A crowd of bandits tried to secure an area for themselves when they suddenly exploded before her very eyes and quickly saw that the petite soldier was chucking some sort of explosives at them.

The requip mage rushed to her side to stop a bandit that was approaching her from behind, effectively slicing his sword to bits before kicking him into the bulwarks, Kuribayashi in turn shooting at an enemy coming at them from the front.

"Thanks for the save." The petite soldier said appreciatively as she continued to fire off rounds at any bandit charging at her.

"Your welcome and I'm very impressed by your fighting ability, even without your rifle you are a force to be reckoned with. Care to wield one of my blades?" Erza knew she broke her rifle and her pistol would barely have enough ammo to use, so it made sense for her to arm a fine warrior like Kuribayashi.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think I've trained enough with swords to really use one like you can." She replied, a comradery smirk lighting up her face that Erza replied with an acknowledging smile of her own.

"Then would you allow me to train you when we have the opportunity?" Erza offered and as she parried a blade away, kneeing her opponent in the stomach and knocking him back with the flat of her blade, was met with a hearty laugh.

"We get out of this in one piece and I get some leave time, I'll take you up on that offer!" Kuribayashi cheerily said as she blocked a dull sword with her broken rifle, pumping the bandit with lead soon after.

Of all things to come of the recent days, Erza hadn't expected for members of the JSDF to grow on her but there was the proof fighting behind her. The requip mage heard shots rang out as a few bodies fell from the ramparts and watched as Itami and one of his men emerge from an alleyway. With this many reinforcement, taking back the east gate just became a lot easier in comparison to how the situation was when she first arrived with Wendy and Carla. The bandit numbers were still high, but the influx was waning down now that they were fighting back much harder, although the ramparts weren't in their control and the gate was still opened to allow more in. Erza would've closed it by now, but the bulwarks were being overrun and the safety of the citizens took priority at that moment as they were more vulnerable if they had fallen and the enemy spilled into the city.

The requip mage had soon noticed that she and Kuribayashi were surrounded on all sides, the petite soldier trying to reload her pistol as she came back to back with Erza. Dawn had been breaking at this point and the requip mage had noted that not once had she needed to use any of her spells since she joined the melee. Though Erza knew it was high time to start using them, one of her more classic ones involving her Heaven's Wheel armor coming into her mind.

"Circle Sword!" A ring of swords appeared suddenly around Erza and Kuribayashi, the tips pointing dangerously at the bandits as the armored woman raised her sword into the air. "Dance, My Blades!"

In an instant, the ring of swords began to spin rapidly around them before shooting off in every direction, disarming and defeating a number of their foes as each blade seemed to ricochet after ever strike. The requip mage had caught sight of Kuribayashi's awe as the blades continued to bounce from target to target before returning to form the protective ring around them, sending them back to her pocket dimension when the immediate danger had passed. The chestnut haired woman made a face of unbelievability at the sight of swords moving with the likes of having minds of their own, trying to fathom the idea that Erza had complete control over them at once.

Kuribayashi was about to comment a bit more on the matter when an almost familiar whirring sound grew louder and louder, closely followed by an incoming whistle. Before she realized what the sound was, a large explosion rocked the outer region beyond the wall as pained cries filled the air. Gunfire quickly followed after as the JSDF soldier watched Iroquois make sweeps across the outer wall and Cobra's unleash their payload on javelin launchers on the towers, causing her to smile at seeing her people showing up to the party. She could hear the positioning movements, callouts and quips her fellow soldiers were making over her radio and was glad that they'll deal with clearing out what was left outside of the gate.

Not a moment later did Kuribayashi had thought about it, a blue crystal-like wall erected itself into the entryway of the wall, stopping those fleeing into Italica in their tracks as they were soon cut down by the gun crews. It was then that the similar substance exploded outwardly behind enemy lines, sending bandits flying into the air as the silhouette of a man could be seen through the smoke fighting off bandits left and right. Dual wielding blades himself, he defended and attacked his enemies at the same time before he was left as the last man standing once the smoke cleared out. Kuribayashi saw dark armor first, glistening in the morning light as the man began stepping forward until her eyes landed on a familiar insignia on his pauldron and finally on the dark raven hair that swayed with the early breeze.

"Did someone call the cavalry?"

* * *

Above them, Pina watched with bated breath as steal Pegasus came down upon the bandits attacking Italica, launching powerful spells that wiped away dozens in a single blast. She could see men riding them, wielding staves similar to those of Itami and his people with marksmanship rivaling even the most experienced archer. These people, the JSDF, were people not to be trifled with and Pina feared that a greater demise would await them all if they were to tread on this giant. What caught her eye, aside from the flying metal in the air, was the new comer at the entrance of the gate that had been crystalized in order to seal it. He carried himself confidently, his dark hair wild and unruly although the insignia on his pauldron was identical to that of Scarlet's.

He was familiar with them, the way the shorter woman had regarded him with a simple eye roll but Scarlet held the look of gratefulness at his sudden appearance. Though now Pina could see everything was coming together in her mind, especially for the fact that she had only ever heard tales of women with such battle prowess in legends.

"Princess, if I may be transparent, I wholeheartedly believe that Scarlet may very well be the War Maiden the rumors had been talking about." The knight had her suspicions when the crimson haired woman had joined the fight, but after all that she displayed, it was proof enough for Hamilton to believe it.

"I'm inclined to believe that as well and if that's the case, we need to prepare immediately after the battle is won." Pina replied as she had yet to remove her gaze from the armored, dark haired new comer.

"Prepare for what, My Princess?" Hamilton was at a loss as it wasn't clear as to what the Princess was alluding to, until she pointed a finger at the dark haired man.

"For him, for the Foolish Prince."


	16. Battle of Italica Pt III

Battle of Italica Pt. III

Hamilton watched intently at the "Foolish Prince" as he made his way over towards the War Maiden, his entrance quite dazzling although she hadn't expected less if he had come riding on one of the steel pegasus. He shared a few words with the crimson haired knight before the petite woman with the broken staff came over to them, expressing some of her own words while they readied themselves for battle. From the bulwarks, she noticed the Men in Green make their way over towards the group, each one flanking the newcomer and Scarlet while pointing their staves at the remaining bandits.

Before anyone made a move to charge, the dark haired newcomer made an intricate motion with his hands before a massive crystal-like hammer appeared out of thin air and crushed a group of bandits. No later once the dust settled from the surprise attack did spears made of the same material shot forth from his hands, blind siding those who managed to recover from the hammer. The "Prince" seemed to have said something towards Scarlet before rushing the enemy, the War Maiden not far behind him as even the smaller woman followed. The last two men stood dumbfounded by their actions, looking unsure as to what to do while the other three began to clear away heaps of enemies.

The elegance of the War Maiden was just as amazing to Hamilton as when she first saw her in action, just like the tenacity of the short woman who left her broken staff behind in favor of her personal dagger and the small weapon she had before. The newcomer on the other hand was an interesting sight, for he made creations out of thin air to help in combat which differed greatly from the last. The brown haired knight watched him create strange contraptions, formidable melee weapons to even summoning a mass of fists from the ground to knock his opponents into the air. He fought like a warrior, skilled with his creations and their usages, but the way he used most of his hand-held weapons were almost like the War Maiden's technique.

Hamilton took a glance at her princess and could see her uneasiness, biting the bottom of her lip as she watched the display of a one sided fight. Her troubles grew once she witnessed her princess bow her head in defeat, unsure as to why since this was a victory clear as day. The bandit numbers dwindled in mere seconds with the arrival of the steel pegasus, the south gate had been well defended by the looks of things and whatever force was left within the walls were the final remnants of the grand army of bandits. So why was it that her princess seemed so distraught at their appearance, lost in her thoughts and yet so frightened by everything before her.

The ground quaked before them as the War Maiden and the "Prince" launched a massive attack that covered the battlefield, though Hamilton could see one final body slump over to its side. That was it, the very last enemy on the battlefield leaving only five individuals standing tall, save for one short woman, as the victors. The bleak reality of defeat faded away with the night sky as the dawn broke and the morning sun shone brightly upon their victory.

"My Princess, we won!" Hamilton tried to cheer Pina up, but she remained unfazed at her words as she looked up to the steel pegasus whose riders began to rappel down to join up with the other Men in Green.

"No Hamilton, this wasn't our victory." Pina replied as her eyes scanned the many Men in Green scattered about, taking prisoners and aiding the wounded. "It was theirs, the defense they put up outclassed ours unimaginably so and the counter attack wiped out those marauders in record time."

"Surely you don't truly believe that, Your Highness?" Hamilton could hear how assured and convinced Pina sounded, though she dared to hope a part of her would still stand high for this victory.

Pina remained silent in response, hugging herself as one of the steel pegasus turned to face her for a few seconds before flying off. Hamilton wished to offer some words to ease her princess, but it seemed that all of them were failing her. The brown haired knight scanned the ramparts and a budding sense of relief bloomed at the sight of Grey waving at them with his bloodied gauntlet. Both princess and knight were glad that their mentor had survived this entire ordeal, but a realization quickly set in when they thought about their missing comrade. It was a long battle, but they were far from done and this time, Pina held her head high for what had to come next.

* * *

A few hours have passed since the enemy had been defeated, the JSDF were assisting with clean up alongside the residents of Italica and the youngest member of Erza's group busied herself with healing the severely wounded. Pina had taken notice the others who had come along with the War Maiden were also providing aid wherever possible, though she herself said little to nothing when someone wished to speak with her. She walked without purpose for what felt like hours before a handmaiden for the Countess had come to tell her that all preparations had been completed and they were simply awaiting her arrival. Her movements felt sluggish as she stepped into place between Hamilton and Grey, the young woman already shedding tears as Grey gently placed the battle worn blade upon the Imperial flag covered coffin. Pina bit back the tears as they gave their final words and prayers to their fallen brother in arms, a loss the Third Princess took personally.

Less than a week ago, they were a formidable team that worked great and got along just as equally. Pina's own hubris to the battle strategies she clung to were what led to his downfall and she couldn't stand the idea that the very pride her brother so obnoxiously touted onto others had befallen her. She had been warned, but swatted the advice away to show these strangers the pride of the Empire. What a fool she was, for it was they that saved Italica in the end from destruction.

Countess Myui came to give a few words in honor of Norma, though she struggled in keeping her sentenced structure for such an occasion, Pina was overall thankful for the gesture. Young Myui offered to bury him in Italica for his sacrifice and though it was kind of the Countess, Pina had declined and asked for him to be taken back to the Capital. The group had one final send off before the transport wagon rode off, leaving the team of three to walk about Italica as the cleanup process was underway around them.

"That's that then, those brigands have been nearly wiped out and what remains have surrendered." Grey spoke up as he followed behind Pina, observing the different bandits that have been restrained.

"Yes, we are victorious." Hamilton added, but what they both failed to see was that their princess was shaking in anger.

"No, we are not. Need I remind you Hamilton that this wasn't our victory. This battle was ours to lose; the War Maiden and the JSDF made sure it never came to pass. It is they who won." Pina could not hold herself as a victor if her own strategy was the one that almost led them to ruination.

"The JSDF, they are our enemy. The ones who defeated our forces and those of the Allied Nations. The invaders who have taken control of the holy hill of Alnus and of course I can't forget about the War Maiden and her group." Pina gave a short pause to truly collect the very thoughts that have been plaguing her since the turnaround in the fighting. "I may have done far more harm than good."

"In trying to really save Italica, have I called upon a much more terrifying threat? They wield unbelievable magics and abilities unheard of and I fear that with the ease they had in defeating the bandits..." Her words faded as she looked upon the group of captured women and for a brief moment, she saw herself amongst them. "If they turned their power against us, then there would be nothing to stop them. We'd be taken prisoner; the Empire loses its most valuable agricultural center and the people of Italica would welcome it all with open arms."

"That's impossible! Such a thing could never happen!" Hamilton wanted to reassure Pina, but the forlorn look she had told her that this all could truly come to pass.

"There is no sure way you can be certain and now that the JSDF and War Maiden have saved Italica, we are at their will. If they demand us to surrender ourselves and the city, then I will be on my hands and knees begging for mercy." A part of Pina felt deeply defeated for having to resort to such things, but if it meant saving her allies and the civilians then so be it. "If they wish for more than I'll even kiss the soles of their feet."

"Your Highness, I can't allow you to stoop so low." Grey interjected, unable to see the young woman he trained since childhood grovel at the feet of the enemy.

"And what would you have me do, Grey? Fighting them is well out of the question."

"He's right, Your Highness. I'll do everything in my power to ensure that you will not have to sacrifice your pride and dignity for our sakes." Pina had always been an inspiration to Hamilton, so to see such a person reserve themselves to defeat didn't sit right with her.

"As small as she may be, Hamilton can achieve great things if she puts her mind to it, Princess." Grey gave her a supportive smile while smacking the small brown haired knight's back proudly.

"I still worry, but I have faith in the both of you." Pina replied, even though her smile was a tad forced to ease them. "If I wish to save this Empire then appeasing a fellow royal will be my strategy."

* * *

"So you're telling me, Mister Ice Cold here got his sword training from you?" Kuribayashi had been tasked with being on standby until Kurokawa had a chance to look her over, so she made idle chatter with the woman much tougher than herself.

"I thought swords would be a better melee weapon for me, kept me in practice to boot." Gray replied, his nose twitching to a diluted but familiar smell nearby.

"Yes well, I needed a training partner that wouldn't infuriate me and had what it took to keep up. Gray also benefited from this since he'd still be swinging clubs and bats to this day without it." Erza replied which was met with a snort from the petite woman as Gray turned his head away from the two, trying to save face.

"You should be glad to have Erza, Gray. A sword is a much more elegant weapon with style and with the way you are, it suits you. Still, I'd like to see you making a fool of yourself swinging a club like some barbarian." Kuribayashi laughed at Gray's cold exterior, having the sense that she managed to embarrass him in some way.

"Trust me, Erza's a strict teacher. You better hope you have what it takes." Gray challenged the chestnut haired woman, who rose to it even if she barely met Gray at his lower chest. "There are only three people who can match her sword skills and I'm one of them."

"You're on Cold Front! Man or woman, there hasn't been a challenger that has beaten me yet! My sword skills will be far better than yours, count on it." Kuribayashi made to say more, but Kurokawa had finally arrived with the rest of the recon team from the south gate. "You'll lose your pedestal soon enough, Ice Boy." She smirked in satisfaction at the slight eye twitch Gray had after her comment and allowed her team medic to do her job from there.

With Kuribayashi under examination, Erza and Gray had decided to move on from there to find the rest of their team; finding Wendy and Carla moving about with helping the wounded, leaving them to wait on Natsu and Lucy. It wasn't long before the iconic pink hair and loud mouth of the fire dragon slayer was discovered in a state of annoyance as he marched his way towards his guildmates. Lucy not far behind him, trying to soothe her temples as Happy was carried about by Lelei. As for the dragon slayer, his annoyance came from the gothic lolita who had a skip to her step as she circled around Natsu. Him trying his hardest to get her to leave him alone, to no avail, and perked at the sight of Erza, though it soured just as soon at the sight of Gray.

"Come now, you must tell me why you want to be a hero." Rory prodded her question for what Natsu believed to be the hundredth time, which was low balling if he was being honest.

"You wanted an answer and I gave it to you, why do you need to know the **why** to it?" It all started from the innocent question of why he was always willing to risk everything to help people, albeit if he has his own distrust for the Empire.

"I've lived for centuries and have met a number of so-called "heroes" in that time, each one seeming to lose sight of the true goal not long into their careers." Fame and fortune are a constant to the downfall of these "righteous" individuals, so the term hero is used loosely in Rory's vocabulary.

"I'll tell you that some other time, go bother Erza or even Gray for all I care!" Natsu couldn't get an exact read on the girl so it just put him off even more, her behavior even more sporadic than his own somehow.

At his words, Rory turned to face both armored magic users and was surprised to see Gray in armor. She scanned Erza and although she'd like to share words with the stone wall of a woman, it was more interesting to move onto the other dual soul keeper she had the pleasure of discovering first. Such curious things they were, but Rory couldn't thank her luck enough to have come across them before her fellow priestess' did.

With a wry smile, she turned on her heel and made her way over to the ice mage which surprised him since he thought the gothic clothed girl would be more interested in Erza at the moment. Her earlier demeanor seemed to have been whisked away as she donned a more centered, neutral stride about her person. It was odd to see this energetic side she had gravitate inwards and leave behind the Rory that the ice mage had first met out on the roads beyond Carne Village. As she drew near, taking some of the attention with her, Lucy decided to stand next to Erza who could easily tell how drained the blonde was.

"I take it the defense of the south gate, wasn't so smooth?" Erza offered as Lucy looked ready to collapse on top of the armored woman.

"It was _insane_ Erza; the bandits scaled the walls, fire was burning **everything** around us and I'm pretty sure I tried to use a bandit shield like a discus of doom!" Lucy was frazzled by all of it and she was omitting the things Rory and Natsu had done, which the blonde was slowly trying to live with. "Then the JSDF aircraft show up and I was ready to collapse right then and there when they started clearing away enemies and dropping soldiers."

"In any case, I'm proud you came out of it alive and strong. Things could have gone far worse if I hadn't acted upon my suspicion of the bandits' tactics." Erza tried to cheer Lucy up, but it had to be held off as she felt the surge of magic from the commlac budding.

She pulled out the device, her magic flowing out and the magic projection of Jura appeared before her. Rory, Lelei and Tuka took notice of the imposing man with the long beard as Erza did a unique salute before the bald man lowered his hand to allow her to rest at ease. Lelei had never seen projection magic at such a scale to such a small portable device, not to mention how the picture was clear and understandable like no other.

 _"Commander Scarlet, I've received word about the assault of the trade city and its prompt defense from your squads. Well done, I'm sending Pelicans over to help assess the situation and if need be, transport available prisoners back to base. Supplies will be aboard as well."_ Jura said and Erza was rather glad to resupply the expended materials since a number of their stock had to be used to help aid the wounded.

"Thank you, Supreme Commander. My team and I should be gaining an audience with the princess I reported to you about earlier. I will give further details after the talks have been completed."

 _"Be mindful of your words, Commander. This could very well be the alternative to fighting that the Queen has been in search for, see to it that we can finish our campaign without the need to shed more blood. HQ signing off."_

Erza gave another salute before the image faded and tried her best to ease herself to the fact that she had to negotiate terms for a peaceful resolution to this conflict between the Empire and the FEF. The armored woman quickly thought it best to leave Natsu outside of the talks in order to avoid another dramatic outburst. Hopefully they have some room to make a few requests, it is after all their territory and it is unknown as to what they offer as compensation.

"Do you think I could head back to base in one of those Pelicans, I could use a break." Lucy asked hopefully as the thought of heading back to base was like a dream come true.

"Sorry Lucy, I still need you with me. With your aristocratic upbringing, understanding the nobility can help us immensely especial-"

"Put her **down** Natsu!"

"Fuck that! I know you can smell it too, you Icy Ass Hat!"

Erza pinched the bridge of her nose, her patience dwindling with Natsu and Gray's need to argue every time they see each other. Natsu had yet to meet up with them for the last five hours and the armored woman felt like he never left with how he stared Gray down. She hadn't the faintest idea what started the argument, but what she can gather so far was that Natsu was holding up a bird like woman in the air rather angrily. The problem with that was it wasn't his usual anger; it was eerily reminiscent to the type he displayed when he found out Pina was the Third Princess for the first time. What interested her about the altercation between the two was that Natsu picked up a scent from her, something he recognized and wanted Gray to admit to picking it up as well. Had to be their slayer's abilities for discerning scents as she could only smell smoke and blood.

The bird woman was taken aback by all of this which was very clearly indicated by the way her feather like hair appeared to puff upward from her head down to where it ended near her lower back. One would expect it since she was being lifted in the air from someone ready to throw punches at any second. Natsu called for Wendy who wasn't so far away from them and from what Erza could tell, asked her to sniff the captive he was holding. Awkwardly, the teen drew close for a few sniffs before nodding her head to Natsu whose cheeky smile grew wide towards Gray. He didn't say anything after that, but Erza couldn't stand being out of the loop any longer and made her way to the trio of slayers.

"Alright, start explaining everything happening here."

"I found a clue Erza!" Natsu pridefully said as he outstretched the bird woman to her, her eyes growing even wider now that she hung before the crimson haired warrior.

"A clue? A clue to what exactly?"

"To the location of all the **missing people**." Natsu emphasized the last bit to show how he couldn't believe Erza hadn't realized it earlier. "Her scent is heavily mixed, but there are traces of Firoean ones in there."

"Wendy, is this true?"

"She does have a few scents not native to the current region; I had thought that it was because of her species, but I did pick up some scents of home."

"What of you Gray, were you going to refute them on this?" Erza had thought he was doing just that since he and Natsu could no longer be on the same page without being at each other's throats as well.

"I... I wasn't. I thought it was my imagination at first, but Charcoal Breath's right. A Fiorean scent lingers on her, she could very well be our first lead in finding the kidnapped civilians." Gray replied, though he truthfully found a bitter taste in his mouth when admitting that Natsu had been right about something.

"If you three are in agreement then Natsu, I want you to guard her and locate any more prisoners with a similar scent. Once the Pelicans arrive, you can hand her off to them." Erza hadn't really expected something like this to happen, but it was a good sign for them and it gave her a reason to keep Natsu away from the princess for a while.

"Sorry Erza, but when those guys show up, I'm going with them." That was an actual surprise to hear as the armored woman didn't think the dragon slayer would leave the group. "As soon as she spills, I'm hopping on the first ride to where they're being held."

"I just can't let you leave like that, Natsu."

"Of course you can, Gray's a terrible substitute for me, but you still have him. It's at least somewhat better than nothing." Natsu remarked as the aforementioned ice mage glared at him.

"That still doesn't mean I'm abou-"

"Pardon my intrusion, but Princess Pina Co Lada would like to discuss the compensation for your aid in defending Italica with the JSDF and you, Sir Foolish Prince." Erza didn't like to be interrupted, but this was such a strange turn of events as the short knight she first met alongside the princess bowed her head to Gray. "Forgive my demeaning words as I have yet to discover your true name, My Lord. Word of mouth has only ever addressed you as the Foolish Prince."

Everyone stood silent at what was unfolding before them, Natsu was slack jawed that someone thought Gray was royalty, Erza couldn't believe that her team's involvement was overshadowed so easily, Wendy wore a shocked expression while the bird woman had realized that she severely angered the companions of royalty. It was then that the crimson haired woman remembered where she heard the name "Foolish Prince," which was the main character in Gray's bedtime story he told the kids of Carne Village. Erza was dumbfounded by this misunderstanding and how quickly word of mouth spreads in such a rustic world. In any case, they were now stuck with this dilemma and were unsure of how to effectively clear this up.

"He'll be right with you, give us a quick minute." Natsu sprang into action as he dropped the bird woman and pulled in both Erza and Gray close.

"What in the hell were you thinking, why'd you agree that I was royalty?" Erza had to agree with Gray on that as now things were going to get even more complicated.

"Listen up Snowballs, play the part and maybe you can get it in with the princess. She thinks that you're royalty, so she'll be a bit more upfront with someone that's like her." The armored duo was quite surprised with Natsu's cunning for their predicament, though it did have its share of troubles.

"Problem is the "Foolish Prince" isn't a royal anymore; lost his kingdom and lives like a commoner now, remember?" Gray clarified about the character's recent standing and though Erza could only remember parts, she did remember that detail. Which of course was a glaring flaw in using Natsu's plan.

"I don't think the princess would've forgotten such a detail, how sure are you that this could even work, Natsu?" Though the dragon slayer has made plans in the past, Erza could confidently say that most tend to fall through right before the middle of it.

"If she remembered, then she thinks that _"once a royal, always a royal"_ which helps us sell the idea that Gray's royalty. Also, he somehow made a fanbase for his stupid bedtime story to tell to the rest of the country in little over a week, so he has popularity."

"We're low on options here Erza, as much as it gags me to say it, we should go with it." For Gray to concede to this plan only served to show Erza that there was merit with putting up a false prince. She just hoped this plan doesn't fall through.

"What would be the alternative?"

"They still think I'm a royal, but stuck up and think of you as my subordinate that does all the talking for me." Gray chimed and was met with a rough elbow to the side by his armored guildmate, surprised that he could feel it through his own armor.

"Fine let's go with Natsu's plan. Gray, Lucy and I will go meet with her and the JSDF and you stand guard of her with the others, understand Natsu?" Erza asked and could tell that the dragon slayer wished to come along too, but his desire for what information the bird woman held was worth more to him.

"Please lead the way, if you will?" Gray said aloud to the chestnut haired knight, Erza knowing that he was trying to access what information he had about princes in any and all forms. A play they had once did popping into her head as an example.

* * *

Both FEF and JSDF members had come together to implement different articles to be included for repayment, a procedure introduced to them by the head maid of the manor as the princess was addressing a few articles herself. Ideas came and went, an equal article for trade rights was agreed upon by both groups although others were shot down from within each respective group. Once everything had been settled, agreed upon and their version of compensation articles given to the head maid, the group was led through the Countess' manor once again. The JSDF were the first to stand within the same room some of them had met Myui for the first time and this time around the other girls had decided to join them as well.

Itami smiled gratefully at seeing Gray once again as he believed to have made some headway with the ice mage during their time traveling together, but he could feel the odd sensation emanating from Rory as she watched Gray enter the room. Almost like a hawk to its prey, though the dark haired young man was like a stoic mountain before her gaze. One thing he would admit, privately to himself, was that the ice mage did look pretty cool in that armor he was wearing, just like the way Erza looked in her various armors.

Lelei seemed to be glad to see him again as well since the last time they were ever together was a few hours when they made it back to the JSDF base before he left. It was hard to get a read on the young man, but Itami could tell he was a good kid if the rest of his friends were anything to go by. What the lieutenant forgot was that unlike everyone else, Gray hadn't had the chance to meet Tuka before he left back to his own base. Itami was about to introduce them when he noticed the curious gaze she was giving him as if she was intrigued by something about him rather than him specifically. A point of interest in all that was that it was actually the same type of gaze she gave Natsu before he met her. That garnered his curiosity, but he'd try to deal with it at another time and focused on the princess before him as everyone got situated.

Pina watched in trepidation as the armored young man entered the room, the prince stood much taller than Scarlet who was already taller than herself and though his appearance made him out to be a calm person, the steely gaze he held told her to be cautious. She could feel her palms become clammy with every step he took to stand before herself and Myui, but his demeanor seemed to betray itself for just a moment as he gave a charming smile towards Myui. The Third Princess knew how nervous she was when it came to meeting such mighty individuals, so the prince's act of friendliness seemed to help calm her just a bit. Through it all though, the details about him simply betrayed one another in the sense that she couldn't really discern what type of person he was, let alone the type of royal he'd be.

His armor was not as ornate as most royal or noble armor, but it stood grand by comparison of a regular set and had an intrigue about it just like Scarlet's armor. His youthful appearance deceived you compared to the eyes of a hardened veteran he held, her mind drawing parallels to those of Grey's. Myui may have been put to ease, but Pina couldn't contain the sudden urge to move in her seat as he looked between those within the room. Natsu's gaze gave her a sudden rush of fear that she did her best to deal with, but the prince's gaze was almost like a predator toying with their prey. With the pink haired young man, she could see the danger before her but with this person, the anticipation and uncertainty were far worse. Pina's nervous internal musings faded away as Hamilton began to speak up, everyone prepared to discuss the terms for what they had done to help.

"By thanks of the great Third Princess Pina Co Lada and Countess of Formal Myui, we are grateful to you for rescuing Italica and would like to negotiate your compensation. First article is of the acknowledgment of participating parties that defended Italica which are as follows: the JSDF and the "Foolish Prince" and his allies." All eyes in the crowd turned their curious gaze over to the mages, mostly centered on the armored newcomer who had raised his hand in objection.

"Can I request an amendment to that article?" Pina held her breath as the prince spoke up, fearful that she made a mistake by adding the others by name instead of encompassing them as his allies. "For starters, my actual name is Gray Fullbuster for future usage and the change I ask you to implement is of instead of using myself by title, make it out to the FEF; abbreviation for the Fiorean Expeditionary Forces. Adding to that, the brave soldiers that remained at Italica's side and its citizens that risked life and limb to its defense."

Hamilton stood confused to the amendment as most rulers prefer to be acknowledge more so than what was first stated, Pina had jotted it down as such for the standard that would be built on once the proceedings were underway. She hadn't thought that he would purposely leave his name out for inclusion of the larger force he came with, not to mention the addition of those who were already defending the trade hub. The short knight made a quick glance over to Pina who shared an equally confused expression for a brief moment before nodding her head in agreement.

"Amendment noted and will be transcribed into the final draft, moving forward to the second article. The safety of a delegation, and its expenses, will be taken care of in accordance to Imperial protocol." Hamilton gave a brief pause to see if the prince was going to make another amends to this, though he didn't make much in the way of wishing for changes. "Second article stands. Third article, trading rights for the Alnus and Artisian Valley cooperatives pose no problems to established lines and can be done given to increased security by both forces in their respective zones."

Initially the whole trading deal was an exclusive to the JSDF as they found more use in it overall for the refugees they had taken in, but it was thanks to Lucy's family's economic background that came up with adding themselves to the mix. Just like the JSDF, they had materials comparable for trading and with trading comes an influx of information for them. Which would come in easier and faster than interrogating prisoners about key areas of interest, all of which would come at barely a few thousand Jewels for the tradeable materials. Lucy couldn't emphasize it enough that as their name grew with greater popularity, this trade route could help establish an information network that could span just as far as the trade route would go. It was the primary focus her father invested in to achieve greater wealth and connections.

It was ingenious and Lucy could pridefully stand knowing that even Erza and Gray had full confidence with her suggestion. Sure, there was going to be a long list of necessary objectives that had to be completed for this to work and find a way to allocate funds to create a trading hub in a military base, but they've done plenty of the impossible before. The blonde had the good sense of notifying Queen Hisui about their new trade dealings beforehand, if it meant she wouldn't be chewed out once they got back to base for her idea.

"But I'd like you to understand that the rights of the prisoners lie with us. Their actions move in accordance to treason under Imperial law and therefore fall underneath our absolute rule." Hamilton spoke up as an introduced clause about prisoner treatment was made by the JSDF, while the next included clause was for their military personnel.

"We understand that labor will be necessary to rebuild Italica, but we want assurances that they'll be treated humanely." Lelei translated in response to her claim and Gray was rather impressed that she had managed to learn the Japanese language well enough to translate for them.

"Humane-ly?" Hamilton wasn't familiar with the word, she has yet to hear of such a thing in her knowledge of the Imperial language.

"It means to be treated well, as one would treat a friend, relative or acquaintance." Lelei clarified and although she wasn't completely wrong, the FEF mages knew that context was essential when the word is used.

"Would friends or relatives attack a peaceful town, pillaging it and killing its people!?" Hamilton became passionate that such terms needed to be applied for the murderers that attacked Italica for their own selfish desires of combat.

"If I may interject, what Lelei meant to say is that the JSDF wishes for you to treat them like human beings. Their punishments are well within your right to define, but they wish for you to treat them like people and not rabid animals." Lucy spoke up and thanks to her clarification, Hamilton had managed to ease up to the term although it could be seen that she wasn't fond of it.

"My apologies for the improper definition for the current situation, but those are their rules." Lelei spoke up again and the chestnut haired woman sighed to herself as there wasn't much she could do with the current power they had.

"Very well, that settles the treatment of the prisoners and the request put in to take ones for yourselves has been approved. The final clause to discuss is the military withdrawal and treaty period." Hamilton was all too happy to finally see the end, but this was a major factor of whether or not they lose a percentage of Italica to each faction present.

"The FEF has no problems with the clause." Erza answered immediately, which caught Hamilton off-guard as she thought the War Maiden would want to enjoy some more spoils from her victory.

"The JSDF have none either with what has been written." Now that floored Hamilton as she had somehow and someway managed to get both factions to agree with unbelievable terms to a victor. Such a thing has never happened before to her knowledge.

With one final check over the treaty, Hamilton confirmed everything that had been stated, added and amended. She looked towards her princess for a final confirmation who nodded her response of agreement and proceeded with the ending statement.

"Thus, the negations have been completed and the Peace of Italica treaty may commence into effect." Hamilton concluded and Pina let out a shaky breath as the head maid began to escort the group out.

It was a wonder how she managed to get through the talks without shaking like a leaf, especially with the War Maiden before her. The most curious thing was the fact that the prince, Gray Fullbuster, declined being prominently mentioned in the defense of Italica. Most nobles that she knew would jump on the mere idea of being mentioned, let alone to the extent she had suggested previously. What really struck her though was this silent resolve he had about him, not to mention that for the briefest moments she could've sworn his right eye flashed a bright blue when he looked at her. They were such an interesting group of people that went above anything Pina could ever understand, even the blonde woman alongside him made such definitive rulings for the FEF cooperative trade agreements that she could rival even the staunchest imperial traders back in the Capital.

Through it all, she was glad that it was over and her faith in Hamilton was not misplaced in the slightest. Pina allowed herself to relax outside of the grand room and lean against a wall now that the FEF and JSDF had been taken away, gaining a respite after such a grueling day.

"So, how'd it go?" Came the deep voice of Grey as he approached her from down the hall, having been outside for most of the proceedings dealing with what remained of the prisoners.

"Both factions will be taking a few prisoners, made it so that we would take care of any diplomatic delegation's security and expenses. We may see them again soon, plus they managed to receive a release from high trade taxes in Italica with the FEF finding a way to be exempt from any and all trade taxes." It wasn't made as clear to Hamilton before, but when Pina looked over the draft of the treaty, she was astonished by the handiwork to place such a thing without notice.

"Overall, those sound like quite the small demands for a victor. Are there no hidden sub clauses they attached that may have gone unnoticed? What about their military occupation?" Grey has seen many battles and he has witnessed firsthand on how far a victor would go for their spoils of battle. This was too far from what he's so commonly used to.

"I've reviewed the draft five times already, the largest area with the greatest number of subclauses come from the second article based upon trade agreements. There are none that I've seen to indicate that they will profit somehow and as for their occupation, both factions will be leaving immediately." Aside from the unexpected withdrawal of all military forces, that blonde woman was a force to be reckoned with on an economic standpoint if she had managed to derive an exemption of all trade taxes from right under Pina's nose.

"That makes no sense then! They barely got anything out of this deal!" Grey has never seen or heard of any army that would accept such terms, under any circumstance.

"That's where you're right, Grey. The natural rights of the victor are absolute, so in order to take something of greatness like that away would take an equal amount of negotiating skills. Even if the blonde woman managed to slip details beneath Hamilton, I'd love to know what magic she used to accomplish such a feat."

* * *

As she spoke so highly of one of her own, Pina would never realize that at the current moment had Hamilton trying to decipher every last bit of information in the prisoner clause as she could. It was more of a surprise to her that though legible with writing she's known all her life, Hamilton felt like she was reading a completely different language. As she went through every paragraph, word for word, Itami began to examine which prisoners would be taken back to Alnus.

"So her and her will be coming with us." Itami said as he pointed to two more women that had been captured. "Oh, and we'll also be taking her and her too."

"You mean the one with hair like feathers?" Kuribayashi asked as Kurokawa followed her finger to a bird like woman, who was sitting beside Natsu.

"Sorry Itami, but those last two are actually coming with me." The dragon slayer called out as both women Itami called out last sat in front of him.

"There's plenty of other prisoners to choose from Natsu, I'm sure you can pick up two others." Itami offered cheerily, but instead of the usual smile he received from the dragon slayer, he was met with an unmoving man on a mission.

"Like I said, sorry Itami. These two are too important to let you have them." Itami scrunched an eyebrow in confusion as this was the first time he's seen the dragon slayer so serious since the fight with the fire dragon.

"I think that's for the better, you just chose women." Kurokawa pointed out as a majority of their prisoners were female with the exception of three men.

"That's just a coincidence." Itami replied dully as he continued to exam the other prisoners, not paying attention to the chestnut haired woman moving the paper in her hand about in every which way.

"I don't know, seems a bit much to be one." Kuribayashi added as she was highly suspicious of their team leader.

"It's a simple coincidence."

"A coincidence?" Kurokawa echoed with uncertainty.

"Yup. A coincidence!" Both women agreed that it would be fruitless to get the lieutenant to speak truthfully and decided to stop questioning him about his choices.

"Well, with the way this world seems to run its imprisonment system, it would be best not to leave the girls stuck here for their own safety." Kurokawa commented to the petite soldier, trying to at least make sense of their leader's actions if he wasn't going to do so himself.

It was pretty much set as the JSDF prepared their prisoners for transport and their helicopters' rotors already started their turn sequences. They were leaving without the bird woman, but Itami thought better than to argue with Natsu in allowing them to take her since he personally didn't want to get an earful. Those that were not being taken had all been shackled from the ankles and wrist, later to be guided towards their cell blocks with the assistance of a JSDF escort alongside Italica militiamen. Through it all, Itami was ready to pack up and return to base following the helicopters, but they had yet to accomplish their original objective that they decided on when coming to Italica. Hopefully Lelei and the other girls wouldn't be long as he wanted to cover as much ground as he could while they still had daylight.

"Aerial bogeys inbound! Five total, coming in from the southeast!" The walkie talkies blared as a JSDF scout caught sight of five blips off in the horizon from his binoculars.

"All troops move into position, get the civilians to safety!" An order blared as JSDF soldiers began to scatter towards cover while others escorted the remaining civilians into sturdier cover.

"Itami! Tell them to stand down!" Natsu called out as people ran about trying to get out of the open as soldiers began mounting the walls with rifle emplacements.

"Why!? Do you know who it is!"

"They're with us, it's our transports!" Itami took the chance to notify the platoon as quickly as possible to not fire until they had better visual.

He couldn't chance it for anything, even if Natsu vouched for the incoming unknowns, so he needed to be cautious. The humming of what he believed to be engines grew louder and louder as they came close and before long, two snub fighters flew over the city. Their designs were unlike any he'd ever seen before, sleek with a bit of a bulbous appearance but they managed sharper turns than he could have anticipated, what more was that they circled back to the east gate and began to hover. The air grew tense as the crafts hovered in place, Itami could see the outline of gatling weaponry on its underbelly and hoped the next sound he heard wasn't bullets ripping through the air.

Not long after the snub fighters began to hover over the east gate did another wave of engines began to grow louder and louder, until the three other vehicles came into view. Their design was just as much an interesting thing as the fighters, but Itami could tell that these were personnel transports as their bay doors were opened to reveal soldiers, a heavy gun mount and it's gunner. The east gate had been opened allowing everyone not on the wall a clear view of where they were landing and as soon as the first transport made landfall, its riders spent no time getting into position. Each one flowed with precise movements as each soldier took a designated position to keep watch of a specific flank, with a clear line of sight for each one.

Their gear was familiar to that of the type that Gray and his friends wore if only in a different color palette. The most curious thing of all was the fact that those soldiers were wielding somewhat familiar looking rifles that each glowed a low blue hue. It didn't take long for Itami to figure out who was leading them as the last man to step off the primary transport made it quite obvious. He wore his coat over his shoulders with the sleeves blowing with the wind, his white hair followed suit where able as most of it was covered by...

"Is that a trucker hat?" Kuribayashi remarked as it was quite weird to see a man as built as him and in charge of men like that to wear something so out of place, especially in the colors that it came in.

"I honestly was hoping it wasn't, but it actually is. Why in the world is he wearing that?" Itami replied as even if they all seemed so out of place within the Special Region, a trucker hat was to go further beyond that.

The soldiers began to file out from the other transports soon after the white haired man cleared his transport, all rifle men and women quickly splitting off in squads. Half followed the trucker hat into Italica while the other half stayed behind to guard their transports. Itami looked up to see the snub fighters take off and began taking laps around the city at a steady pace, which surprised him as he thought they would land as well.

 _"My, my, my, I see you done and made friends Pinky!"_ The white haired man drawled in the native language Natsu spoke with, but the dragon slayer huffed in response to his words. _"Are these lovely people here those JSDF Commander Cherry and Cold Feet done reported about?"_

 _"It them alright and it's ERZA, got it?"_ Natsu replied to him and Itami felt a bit off put as the white haired walked up to them, standing taller than even Tomita as he shined them a toothy smile.

 _"Ain't this a pleasure to finally meet the friends my people made here. Put it there friend!"_ Itami was unsure of what exactly the tall man said, but decided that it was best to shake the man's hand.

The Japanese man hadn't expected the crushing grip that came with it as it caught him off guard, his squeeze was a vice grip and the dragon slayer had made a comment about something in their native tongue. Whatever it was helped to loosen the white haired man's grip quite a bit and his jolly demeanor helped express his embarrassing blunder, no doubt apologizing for the brute strength he used on him.

"He's Generally Major, or was it Major General, Tyson Hammer of the FEF. He's also sorry for crushing your hand Itami." Natsu introduced and it somewhat overrode the pain Itami felt with shock that a general of theirs had arrived.

"Yeah, no problem, so I guess this means goodbye for now doesn't it Natsu?" Itami questioned and Natsu simply nodded his head as a four man guard of soldiers circled the two women the dragon slayer was watching over. "It was a pleasure working with you, hopefully we'll see each other soon."

"Right back at you Itami, watch yourself out here." Natsu said as he followed behind the soldiers while the Major General tipped his trucker hat to excuse himself as he went off to speak with the rest of Natsu's group.

Itami watched the man walk away as the rest of his men spread across the area, keeping guard and at times helping where needed. Kuribayashi and Kurokawa couldn't exactly get over the fact that fantasy and technology have blended this well way before they came to the Special Region. The FEF had ground vehicles, air vehicles and even rifles which summed up the reason as to why they weren't exactly blown away with their tech like those of the Special Region.

"So we met their Major General, not to mention that there is also a Supreme Commander we have yet to meet and we've yet to visit their base. I feel like we're bother falling behind and just barely keeping a step ahead." Kuribayashi commented as she eyed the glowing rifles, swearing to herself that she's seen a model somewhat similar to it before.

"One thing at a time, Kuribayashi. One thing at a time." Itami simply replied wondering to the greater powers as to what was taking the girls so long to finish selling those dragon scales.

* * *

Pina wanted to shrink into herself as soon as she saw even stranger steel pegasus landing just outside of Italica, this time belonging to the FEF judging by the insignia they were adorned with. A man with white hair had appeared all of a sudden when she was making her way to try and speak with Prince Gray, her nervousness planting her where she stood. The group had taken notice and she feared making a fool of herself in front of all of them. The white haired man strode confidently to her, bowed his head in a gentlemanly manner, and apparently spoke a few kind words in his native tongue that she couldn't quite understand.

The group she came to know all held exasperated faces after what he had done and before anything else could be done, the man turned away speaking strangely once again while the group followed behind him. She saw this as her chance and reached out to tug at Prince Gray's glove, choosing this over speaking as she feared her voice would fail her. Her timing was off and missed his hand, but changed target and tried to gently tug at his cape although her attempt ended up as more of a pull. Evident by the way Prince Gray lurched back by the sudden force from behind him.

"M-My apologies, Prince Gray. I didn't mean to pull that hard." Her embarrassment was going to eat her alive before she finished talking to him, though she thanked the gods that neither Hamilton or Grey was around to see.

"It's fine, no harm done. Please just call me Gray, I haven't used the title of prince in many years." Pina nodded to his wish and tried to mentally drum up everything that the tavern girl said to figure out if her information was correct with what the young man in front of her said.

"Due to having no kingdom, correct?" If she was wrong then Pina better pray that he'd be a forgiving type of person.

"Yes, and by that I can assume you know a bit more about me." Pina's original plan to ask simple questions to test if her information was accurate fell through as at this point it would be seen as invasive which she wanted to avoid. "Tell me about what you've come to learn about me and I'll correct the mistakes."

Gray gave her the chance so Pina decided to take it, detailing everything she's come to learn about the prince and he kept a thoughtful expression as she went from detail after detail. It was only when she started to recount each one that it began to seem far fetched and at some point, Pina wholeheartedly believed that he'd make a complete fool of her but she pressed on for she had to at least try to find the truth. The Third Princess remained silent once she had gotten to the last thing she had heard and could recall, patiently waiting for his reaction.

At first, he remained stoic before a grin split his face and he let out a chuckle. Pina could see all her embarrassment from a mile away now and hoped his words wouldn't cut too deep.

"Quite the set of tales you've picked up about me, but a few them are pretty far out there." Gray began and Pina was ready to be crushed by his words. "I have never met a number of these women in person to have such "nightly activities", I haven't created a harem in every new place I step into and although I fought the dragon head on, my allies helped drive it away."

"Oh, I see..." Pina felt elated that he didn't criticize her for being naive enough to believe all these stories, but it put another question before her. "So, does that mean your life story and what your allies are is all true?"

"To put it in a simple word, yes. Natsu and Wendy are dragons in human form, Erza's pretty much the War Maiden your people talk about and Lucy is essentially a celestial princess."

Pina grew silent at realizing that she stood before a legendary woman, unbelievably destructive creatures and the very royal of the stars. That primal fear she felt with Natsu was now justifiable as he's a literal dragon forever in human form, which makes the fact that he took the flame dragon's arm seem so much more plausible. She found solace that Gray was just a regular human who had managed to befriend all these great beings himself, which is far greater by comparison than most riches. Pina wanted to lie down as the reality of it all hit her like a boulder to the chest as it meant that the fate of the Empire rested on her shoulders to keep an admirable friendship with Gray. Keeping a friendship meant that she had access to his assistance and that of his friends.

"Oh and the part in which I live amongst the common folk is true as well." Pina had thought that was a false statement told by the common rabble so Gray would be more for the regular folk, but now she didn't know what to think.

"Why? You befriended fantastic individuals and have gone on exciting exploits; you could've rebuilt your kingdom with little difficulty." If she had over half of the prince's great charisma, Pina would use it to prove she was just as capable at being a leader.

"Because why would I want to live the life I never had?" That was such the odd turn of phrase if Pina ever heard one, it was akin to asking why wouldn't a thirsty man want a river before him.

"Isn't it obvious? To take back what was destined for you!" Who wouldn't want to take the chance to live a life of riches, power and respect?

"A commoner's existence with the people I care about outweighs living a lonely existence in the lap of luxury. You're trying to hold an empire together from falling apart at the seams, but are you willing to hold together the Old World you live in if it means you must sacrifice your future?" Pina had given pause at his words as he had caught her red handed in what she was attempting to do, save the world she would one day rule if her father chose her to succeed him.

"But letting go of your old life takes away the purpose you had, why chase a commoner's dream when you can make it a reality." He had connections and it wouldn't be so hard to bring life back into the kingdom he had lost.

"I've dreamt of going back to the way things were, to have everything and my family returned to me. A dream I've grown fond of, but have learned to leave it as such. I could speak a lot about what I've come to believe, but what you need is a change of perspective. Only then will you realize that sometimes the old ways must end for the sake of future." Gray's words spoke truths as over the years even Pina stopped turning a blind eye to what her Empire was doing and had become.

"And if you're wrong? What if the old ways are justified for their existence?"

"Then ask yourself if you're willing to rule an empire where the rich exploit the weak, torment that which is different from them and subjugate those that resist." Pina's eyes widen at the implication of what she has tried for many years to not see, even avoiding the idea that it existed in her own home. "Rags to riches is a commoner's dream, but having a life worthwhile is everyone's dream."

"Then what makes your life worthwhile?" Pina wanted, no, she had to know; Gray could preach all he wanted but if didn't have a solid answer then he was nothing more than a hypocrite. "What do you live for?"

"I have made a new family from the people I've come to know and I live to make sure I don't lose any more people I care about." Gray replied in a way that it felt as if the very air grew solemn with his words, turning on his heel to return to his group leaving Pina to think over his words.

The Third Princess only ever wanted to be acknowledged by her father, doing her best to prove herself time and time again. Overshadowed by her elder brother's own achievements that received wide attention while she was used for decoration, her luster in achieving the greater trials of knighthood merely rewarded with simple words and mock appreciation. Pina spent years in order to make herself worthy of being recognized as a rightful princess rather than the daughter of her father's concubine. Gray's words echoed back and through it all, Pina never lived a life worthwhile as it was all spent trying to gain the acceptance of her father.

She never lived for herself, only for those few words to be uttered from a distant man she called a father. Her eldest brothers, Zorzal and Diabo, came to mind when she thought about those who live some form of worthy lives, if to a degree. Zorzal may be an all-around fool but his ruthlessness and sadism against the Warrior Bunnies helped spread fear into those that questioned the Empire. Be it man or demi-human, his wrath was unforgiving and allowed himself to indulge in his own fantasies. Would his life be considered worthwhile? Diabo, though never truly accepted by their father like her, still has a far greater superiority and understanding of the politics and laws of the throne. He's spent his life trying to gain their father's attention until switching his goal to have everyone know that he exists. Could his life be considered worthwhile?

Zorzal would think so and by all accounts, even to Pina, Diabo's doesn't seem like it is as he still struggles to this day. They both were the extremes to base herself off of, one who can indulge while the other scraps along. In her bid to being accepted, Pina could never truly indulge herself with pride as it was all meaningless bluster given to her and at least she and her Rose Order had been appreciated as knights if only for décor rather than being shoved away into a corner. She didn't have anything to take pride in as her work was never appreciated, but she didn't fall to pieces because her efforts were at least realized by her father.

Pina's introspection allowed her to see that even though her life hadn't dropped to a point that it felt worthless, she also didn't feel like what she had done over the years had been worthwhile. She never lived for herself, she lived to break into the spotlight of her father's gaze if only for a little while and it took away from where her efforts could have truly gone to.

"I can't save the Old World, but it won't stop me from saving the Empire."


End file.
